Bomb threat: Egypt bound plane makes emergency landing

Bomb threat: Egypt bound plane makes emergency landing

Thursday, November 19, 2015 10:16 am


Burgas Airport

Burgas Airport

An aeroplane with 161 people aboard made an emergency landing in the Black Sea city of Burgas on Thursday, following a bomb threat while en route to Egypt from Poland’s capital of Warsaw, Bulgarian authorities said.

All passengers and crew were evacuated, but no explosives have been found aboard, a spokeswoman for the Burgas airport told Reuters, adding that the airport remains closed.

“The plane landed in Burgas at 05.48 a.m. (0348 GMT) after a request for flight number LLP8015 travelling from Warsaw to Hurghada to make an emergency landing, due to a report of the presence of explosives on board,” the press officer said.

A passenger who alerted crew about a possible bomb admitted on questioning to having consumed alcohol, a police spokeswoman said.

A spokesman for Polish national carrier LOT said the aircraft did not belong to the airline but was a charter, destined for the Egyptian city of Hurghada.

The bomb threat came as ISIS claimed to have used a Schweppes drink can to bomb the Russian airliner that crashed in Sinai, Egypt last week.

All the 224 people on board died.

According to a Reuters report, the Islamic State’s official magazine carried a photo on Wednesday of a Schweppes soft drink can it said was used to make an improvised bomb that brought down a Russian airliner over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula last month, killing all 224 people on board.

The photo showed a can of Schweppes Gold soft drink and what appeared to be a detonator and switch on a blue background, three simple components that if genuine are likely to cause concern for airline safety officials worldwide.

A photo published in Islamic State magazine Dabiq shows a can of Schweppes Gold soft drink and what appeared to be a detonator and switch on a blue background. Social Media

A photo published in Islamic State magazine Dabiq shows a can of Schweppes Gold soft drink and what appeared to be a detonator and switch on a blue background. Social Media

“The divided Crusaders of the East and West thought themselves safe in their jets as they cowardly bombarded the Muslims of the Caliphate,” the English language Dabiq magazine said in reference to Russia and the West. “And so revenge was exacted upon those who felt safe in the cockpits.”

Western governments have said the Airbus A321 operated by Metrojet was likely brought down by a bomb and Moscow confirmed on Tuesday it had reached the same conclusion, but the Egyptian government said it has still not found evidence of criminal action.


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