BBC denies being hacked after breaking news alert is transmitted in Bengali

Human error is blamed for the mistake

The error led to some confusion among readers (screengrab)

The BBC has denied being hacked after a breaking news alert was transmitted in Bengali.

Visitors to the English language BBC website and users of the news service’s mobile app received news alerts in the south Asian language on Friday afternoon.

The error led to speculation the organisation was a victim of cybercrime.

It is unknown how many people were affected but the BBC is one of the world’s most foremost news organisations and millions of people use its online services every day.

“Apologies to anyone who received a breaking news alert from our Bengali service,” the BBC Breaking News account tweeted. “Don't worry, we weren't hacked.”

A BBC spokeswoman confirmed to The Independent the Bengali script appeared because of human error but would not comment any further.

Readers were confused by the Bengali-language alert and some speculated hacking was the cause.

The story itself became the most popular on the BBC website. It was about suspected militants being raided by police in Bangladesh.

Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh and is also used in India, mainly in the north eastern states.