Indian Air Ambulance makes emergency landing in Bangladesh; the patient dies

The Beechcraft King Air C90A, registered VT-HYA, was flying from Agartala to Kolkata on Sunday (Oct 18, 2026) when it encountered a problem while climbing over 12,000 feet, state news agency BSS reported. | Photo credit: GettyImages/iStockphoto

An Indian woman has died after the air ambulance carrying her made an emergency landing in Bangladesh after a technical fault caused the plane’s door to partially open in mid-air, local media reported.

The plane landed safely at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 1:40 pm local time with seven people on board, including two pilots, a patient, a doctor, a paramedic and two companions, the report said.

The patient, identified as 56-year-old Anjana Bhowmik, was taken to the Kurmitola Multicare Specialist Hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead, the Dhaka Tribune reported. All other passengers on the plane were safe, it said.

The exact circumstances of the patient’s death remain unclear, and it is not known whether her death was related to a technical malfunction of the plane or other medical complications.

MD Riaz Uddin, spokesperson for the managing director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, told The Daily Star that the plane experienced a mechanical problem during the flight which caused the door to open.

Senior Airport Police Officer Kamrul Hasan Talukder told the newspaper that Ms Bhowmik died in hospital at 4.40pm local time on Sunday.

Bangladeshi authorities assisted the air rescue service on humanitarian grounds despite not having the required international landing clearance, BSS said. The Indian High Commission in Dhaka was coordinating with Bangladeshi officials to facilitate the necessary diplomatic formalities, it said.

The plane was operated by India’s SKB Infracon Pvt Ltd and remained at Dhaka airport while authorities worked to resolve clearance issues, The Daily Star reported.

Published – 19 Oct 2026 13:29 IST