Moscow-Goa Flight Diverted To Uzbekistan After Bomb Threat, 2nd Case In 10 Days

A Moscow-Go flight was diverted to Uzbekistan on Saturday morning after it received a security threat.

An Azur Air chartered flight from Russia’s Perm International Airport to Goa received was diverted to Uzbekistan after it received a bomb threat. The fligh was carrying total of 238 passengers, including two infants, and seven crew members. This is the second such case in a span of 10 days.

The flight was scheduled to land at the Dabolim airport in South Goa at 4.15 am, a senior police official said.

The flight (AZV2463) operated by Azur Air was diverted before it entered the Indian air space, he said.

"It was diverted after an email was received at 12.30 am by the Dabolim airport director that mentioned a bomb being planted on the plane," the official said.

On January 10, a Moscow-Goa chartered flight landed in Gujarat's Jamnagar after a bomb threat.

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 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."

The bomb disposal squad and fire brigade teams reached the spot as soon as information was received. Apart from this, CISF officers, as well as the collector and superintendent of police, Jamnagar, had 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 had been 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. 

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 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.