British Airways flight makes emergency landing as woman falls ill onboard

Dhaka: A British Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Uzbekistan on September 22 after a female passenger onboard fell ill.

Reports said, the woman, aged 83, died soon after arrival in the capital, Tashkent.

Flight BA260 departed from Islamabad, Pakistan at 00:38 on September 22 for London Heathrow. However, the Boeing 777 made its emergency landing two hours and 50 minutes into the flight, added reports.

Other passengers were taken off the plane and waited at the terminal in the former Soviet state, which borders Afghanistan.

'We're very sorry, this flight scheduled from Islamabad to London has been diverted to Tashkent,' said a message by British Airways.

The flight is due to continue onto London after formalities have been completed in Uzbekistan.

The identity or nationality of the woman has not been made public.

An airport official said that the passenger had “felt bad and the captain made the decision to make an emergency landing in Tashkent”. “Immediately afterwards the passenger died,” the official said, according to reports.

“The airport administration does not yet know when the paperwork required in such cases will be completed and the aircraft will fly to its destination”, the airport official added.   

The flight was further delayed after a 'technical problem' emerged as the flight was being refuelled, mentioned reports.

Special dispensation had to be given for a local engineer to fix a malfunctioning pump on the Boeing 777, an aircraft not normally seen in Tashkent.

After the repairs, the crew's hours had expired and they were ordered to rest before being given the go-ahead to continue the interrupted flight.