The Moscow-Goa chartered flight, which landed in Gujarat's Jamnagar after a bomb threat, has been cleared for take off. The security teams found nothing suspicious on the flight.
Earlier, the security outside the Goa International Airport w as beefed up after Goa ATC received a bomb threat on a Moscow-Goa chartered flight.
Talking about the precautionary measures, Vasco DSP Salim Shaikh said, "On the threat call, we are just taking precautionary measures. We have deployed a special force at the airport. We are watching the activities here, there is nothing to worry about. This can also be a rumour, but we are not taking any chances."
The flight, with 236 passengers and 8 crew members onboard, was diverted to Gujarat's Jamnagar to avert any mishappening.
Jamnagar Collector Saurabh Parghi said that the security agencies cordoned off the airport for 9 hours.
"Intensive checking of the aircraft and passengers has been done. The passenger's luggage is being checked and details are being verified," he added, quoted ANI.
The Russian Embassy in India issued a statement on the incident and said, "The Embassy was alerted by the Indian authorities about the alleged bomb scare on the Azur Air flight en route from Moscow to Goa. The aircraft has made an emergency landing at Jamnagar Indian Air Force Base. Everyone on board is safe. The authorities are conducting a thorough inspection of the aircraft."
"We received info regarding a bomb in Moscow-Goa flight which has been diverted to Jamnagar. The flight has 236 passengers and 8 crew members. All passengers have been safely taken out and are in the airport lounge. Bomb detection and disposal work going on," said Jamnagar Collector.
Earlier on Monday night, the chartered flight from Moscow to Goa was diverted to Jamnagar in Gujarat after the Goa air traffic controller received a bomb threat. The aircraft has been kept in the isolation bay and further investigation is underway, said Jamnagar airport officials.
There were 236 passengers onboard the Moscow-Goa flight. They were all safely de-boarded at the Jamnagar airport after the aircraft landed around 9.49 pm, reported ANI.
Bomb disposal squad and fire brigade teams have reached the spot. Apart from this, CISF officers, as well as the collector and superintendent of police, Jamnagar, have reached the airport to take stock of the situation.
According to sources, the threat was concerning a suspicious object on the flight.
All the 236 passengers and crew members were evacuated safely and the plane is being checked by local authorities along with the police and bomb detection and disposal squad, said Inspector General of Police (Rajkot and Jamnagar Range), Ashok Kumar Yadav. "We are investigating the matter," he said.
Earlier, a full emergency was declared for Vistara Airlines flight UK-781 operating from Delhi to Bhubaneswar due to a hydraulic failure. The aircraft, which had around 140 passengers onboard, returned to Delhi after take off. "Vistara's A320 aircraft VT-TNV operating the flight UK-781 from Delhi to Bhubaneswar was involved in an air turnback due to a hydraulic system issue. The plane made a priority landing at Delhi airport," PTI quoted a senior DGCA official as saying.
BOMB THREAT ON FLIGHT LAST YEAR
In October last year, a plane carrying 400 people from Moscow had to make an emergency landing in Delhi after a bomb threat. According to officials, Aeroflot Pilotage flight SU 232 had landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on the morning of 14 October. Passengers and crew members were safely evacuated. According to the police, the CISF had received an e-mail warning of a bomb in the flight. The plane was examined and nothing was found.