A Biman Airbus went onto the grassland beside the tarmac at Zia International Airport last evening after the pilot reportedly lost control of the aircraft when it was entering the taxiway from the runway.

The 153 passengers and crew onboard flight BG-118 escaped injuries. The flight from Sylhet landed around 6:45pm but failed to reach the terminal.

Soon after the incident, emergency workers evacuated the passengers from the plane.

An Emirates flight heading for Dhaka had to be diverted to Kolkata and several flights were delayed as the incident halted ZIA for two and a halfhours.

Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) and Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd formed two separate enquiry committees in this regard.

"Everything was normal... the aircraft landed safely but the pilot lost control trying to moved the aircraft onto the taxiway from the runway," a Biman official told The Daily Star last nigh t.

"The aircraft left the taxiway and went onto the soft ground stopping about five to seven feet away from the taxiway," CAAB Chairman Sakeb Iqbal Khan Majlis told The Daily Star.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines formed a seven-member probe committee headed by its Director (customer service) M Aminul Huq.

CAAB formed a three-member committee headed by Wing Commander (flight safety) Kamrul Hasan.

"The passengers were unharmed and there was no damage to the aircraft as its speed was very low," a Biman official said.