YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - A plane operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines skidded off the runway while landing Wednesday evening at Myanmar’s Yangon International Airport, injuring at least four people including a pilot, an airline official said.
Biman spokesman Shakil Meraj said the accident occurred when the Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 aircraft was landing in bad weather after a flight from Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka.
Flight BG060 was carrying 33 people, including two pilots and two flight attendants, he said, adding that the condition of the four injured people was not life-threatening.
Photos of the plane showed it lying partly on the wet runway and partly on the grass. Its fuselage appeared to be broken in at least two spots.
Meraj said he was unaware of news reports that about 15 people had been hospitalized, but he could confirm there were no fatalities.
The Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star quoted Bangladesh’s ambassador in Yangon as saying: “All are injured more or less but no one was in critical state. However, 15 of the injured are hospitalized.”
Meraj said the airline was sending a special flight to bring back the passengers and crew.
“We want to ensure that everybody is treated properly in case of any injuries,” he said.
Asked if passengers could decide to stay in Yangon, he replied, “We can’t force anybody, but what we want to ensure is that everybody is OK, and they can return with our team.”
Airport authorities briefly halted runway operations after the accident but announced later they had resumed, though flight delays were expected.
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Associated Press writer Julhas Alam in Dhaka, Bangladesh, contributed to this report.
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