Excessive speed may have caused Air Force vehicle crash at Dhaka airport, minister says

Bangladesh Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat said a Bangladesh Air Force vehicle likely crashed near the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport because it was travelling too fast.

"I think the vehicle was travelling at high speed and the driver lost control. They were supposed to turn right but could not. The vehicle crossed the area where you are standing and fell into the underpass," Millat told reporters after inspecting the site.

The crash occurred at about 9:35 p.m. the previous day while the vehicle carried seven personnel performing Quick Response Force duties in the terminal area, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate. Three airmen, Warrant Officer Sultan Mahmud, Corporal Moniruzzaman Pias and Leading Aircraftman Md Zubaidul Islam, died at Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka. Four others remained under treatment.

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From what we have heard, it seems to have been an accident. It could have been the driver’s fault.

A five-member committee headed by Md Nazrul Islam, deputy director of aviation security at the airport, will investigate the accident. Millat said the vehicle should not normally have entered the area and directed authorities to install protective measures before the terminal opens. He said visitors, particularly children and elderly people, would need protection.

The three deceased airmen were honored at a military funeral and parade at the C-130 hangar of Air Force Base Bir Uttam AK Khandker in Kurmitola. Millat, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman and Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan attended. The bodies were later taken to their villages for burial with military honors.

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I think the vehicle was travelling at high speed and the driver lost control. They were supposed to turn right but could not. The vehicle crossed the area where you are standing and fell into the underpass.