Dubai International Airport was closed in early Monday morning after a Bangladeshi aircraft skidded off the runway, leaving 14 passengers injured, a statement of Dubai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) said.

 

DCA announced an eight-hour closure for Dubai International Airport starting from 0630 a.m. (0230 GMT) after flight BG 006 of Bangladesh's Biman Airlines had an accident during departure and failed to take off at that time, the statement said.

 

All 236 passengers, including crew, were safe, and were immediately evacuated from the aircraft and 14 passengers suffered from minor injuries, it said.

 

The flight was from Dubai, the second largest emirate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

 

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and DCA were investigating the cause of the accident.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2007)