Bomb threat centering Malaysian flight appeared ‘made up’

Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) have found that a bomb threat centring a Malaysian Airlines plane eventually appeared “inaccurate” after a thorough search of passengers, their luggage and the craft at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).

“The information we received over a phone call from Malaysia appeared to be made up. . . nothing was found,” HSIA’s executive director Group Captain AHM Touhid-ul Ahsan confirmed.

He said this while addressing a news briefing early Thursday following a massive security search.

He said the search campaign was carried out by army commandos, air force bomb disposal units, elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and different intelligence agencies and fire fighters in line with “our SOP” or standard operating procedure.

Ahsan declined to disclose the identity of the caller. However, he said RAB received the call while the subsequent exchanges with the Malaysian authorities and intelligence reports suggested the aircraft involved no such threat.

According to the airport official the scheduled flight carried 135 passengers with 134 being Bangladeshis and one Malaysian.

The plane made an emergency landing at HSIA at 9.38 pm, ahead of which the commandos and security agencies took position at the scene where fire fighters and mbulances were kept standing in alert position.