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Defence Ministry announces Lt General Al-Khuder, all other delegation members safe
DHAKA/KUWAIT CITY: A Bangladesh Air Force helicopter carrying a Kuwaiti military delegation including its army chief crashed inside a Border Guard camp in Sreemangal town, Bangladeshi and Kuwaiti officials announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence announced that Chief of Staff Lt General Mohammed al-Khuder and all other members of the delegation were safe. “The helicopter suffered an accident while landing in the Silit area, where the heavy fog obscured the pilot’s vision, causing the copter to make contact with trees prior to landing on the designated site.”
Only minimal damage and moderate injuries were reported, it added. A photo posted on Twitter by the Kuwait Army showed the tail of the helicopter had separated from its body. Al-Khuder made a phone call to Kuwait’s Defence Minister Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and Deputy Chief of Staff General Abdullah Nawaf al-Sabah confirming their safety.
The Kuwaiti army chief arrived in Bangladesh on Monday, accompanied by a high-ranking military delegation, for an official visit aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries. The injured are being treated at the Sreemangal Upazila Health Complex. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Lt Col Rashidul Hasan said that the helicopter made an emergency landing 100 feet away from the camp helipad.
