DHAKA, Aug 26: A Dubai-bound Bangladesh Biman flight carrying 274 passengers and 14 crewmembers on board was stopped minutes before take-off at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong on Friday because of a bomb scare.

The authorities offloaded the passengers and the crew after the civil aviation exchange had received an anonymous call that a bomb had been planted in the cargo hold of the DC-10 aircraft.

A huge contingent of the Rapid Action Battalion and other law-enforcement agencies cordoned off the aircraft as an intensive search was carried out. However, nothing was found in the search, said Squadron Leader Shahin Farhad, manager of the airport. The security exercise sparked off panic among the passengers; however, the situation never went out of control, he said.