Zia International Airport (ZIA) reopened Friday after 20-hours of closure, as 'SIDR', a deadly cyclone, subsided in the Bay of Bengal, officials said, reports bdnews24.com.
Operations at main Chittagong Port also resumed after a suspension lasting nearly 48-hours, as the cyclone moved towards Assam in India and subsided into a tropical storm.
Thirteen foreign ships were stranded at the sea-port since operations were suspended late on Wednesday due to approaching of the cyclone.
"We have advised normal operations at the port, as the storm crossed the coast overnight," said a senior offi cial of Chittagong Port, which handles 80 per cent of the country's external trade.
Flight operations at ZIA remained suspended early Friday, and an official said, no flights had taken off or touched down at the airport after 9:30pm Thursday.
Earlier, the Weather Office in Dhaka Thursday advised authorities at ZIA to halt all flights from 9pm until further notice.
The cyclone, packing winds up to 250 kph, hit the country's coastal belt late on Thursday, killing more than 250 people and triggering a 5-metre high water surge that devastated three coastal towns with a combined population of 7,00,000. Officials said, the death toll would rise as the search for more bodies continued.
ZIA, Ctg port reopen
FE Team | Published: November 17, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
Share if you like