Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today appreciated the ‘courage, intelligence and prudence’ of a Biman aircraft pilots and crew which was exposed to a hijack threat on Feb 24.

‘You’ve showed huge courage, intelligence and prudence,’ she told the pilots and crew of the Biman aircraft that made an emergency landing in Chattogram Shah Amanat International Airport as one of the passengers emerged as a hijacker, reports the BSS.

The premier called them ‘heroes’ saying that they successfully thwarted the hijack bid of the BG-147 aircraft.

‘You’ve successfully tackled the situation with infinite courage causing no casualties and damage to the aircraft,’ premier’s deputy press secretary Ashraful Alam Khokan quoted her as saying.

He was briefing reporters after the pilots and crews of the aircraft BG-147 called on the premier at her official Ganbhaban residence here this evening.

‘You’ve showed huge courage, intelligence and prudence by ending the hijack bid successfully,’ she told the pilots and crews of the Biman aircraft.

The Dubai-bound Boeing 737-800 aircraft made an emergency landing at the Chattogram airport at 5:41pm on Sunday after a youth named Polash Ahmed allegedly attempted to hijack the plane.

He was killed later in an eight-minute operation by military para-commandos.

Sheikh Hasina said she monitored the situation every minute during that episode and her biggest concern was the security of the passengers, pilots and crew.

‘I issued directives for safe evacuation of all passengers, pilots and crews,’ she said.