Turkish plane lands in Delhi after bomb scare

All passengers on the plane were evacuated safely and the aircraft was taken to an isolated bay for further checks.

The Aviation Ministry confirmed that nothing suspicious was found on the Turkish Airlines <g data-gr-id="40">plane,</g> and that it has been cleared for takeoff. The Airbus 330 aircraft was checked for explosives, by CISF and Bomb Disposal Squads. Aviation secretary RN Choubey on Tuesday said, “144 passengers and 13 crew members were on board, they were offloaded, security check was done,” the aviation secretary said, adding, “BDS did a thorough check, nothing has been found on the aircraft,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said NSG and bomb disposal squad were pressed into service. “No explosive was found inside the cabin. The cargo portion was checked,” he said. 

He said the entire area was cordoned off and the fire brigade was alerted. Union home minister Rajnath Singh spoke to CISF DG over the emergency landing of a Turkish Airlines plane at Delhi airport.  “The Home Minister spoke to DG, CISF over <g data-gr-id="32">phone</g> who apprised him of the situation at the IGI airport post the emergency landing of <g data-gr-id="33">Turkish</g> airlines flight,” the MHA said in a statement.

The plane, an Airbus 330, landed safely at 1341 hours on Tuesday at IGI Airport and was taken to an isolation bay, sources said, adding that “it appears to be a hoax”. A suspected bomb was detected by the pilot of the aircraft and he informed the Air Traffic Control, CISF sources said. According to airport sources, a message, written with lipstick, on a washroom mirror of the plane warned of a bomb in the cargo hold of the plane. Flight crew who saw the message contacted Nagpur ATC who guided them to Delhi ATC. 

As of now, the incident has not been declared as a hoax. Sources say cargo was thoroughly checked 

and passengers were quizzed.

In an official <g data-gr-id="47">statement</g> the Turkish Airlines had said, “Turkish Airlines Bangkok – Istanbul flight (TK065, A 330 Aircraft, carrying 134 passengers) has diverted to Delhi after a possible bomb threat. The plane has already landed in Delhi and all of our passengers and cabin crew have been safely evacuated and taken to the terminal building.”