Pilot dead as Bangladesh cargo plane crashes into sea

Dhaka, March 9 (IANS) A pilot was killed and two crew members were missing as a cargo plane crashed into the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Bangladesh's Cox's Bazaar district on Wednesday.

The Jessore-bound aircraft crashed into the sea around 9.30 a.m., bdnews24.com quoted a beach town airport authority as saying.

The accident occurred at the Naziratek Point of the sea, five km off the town, he said.

Police said the Antonov A26 aircraft, operated by True Aviation, was used for carrying shrimps cargo between Cox's Bazar and Jessore.

"All four on board were Russian nationals," Cox's Bazar police said.

A search and rescue operation began immediately after the crash that took place almost a km off the beach. The fire service also joined the rescue mission.

One person was rescued around 10 a.m. and taken to the hospital, said a fire service official, adding that they were still looking for the two missing.

The hospital's emergency wing doctor Nobel Kumar Barua said the rescued person "is in critical condition."