Moscow – Goa Flight Reached Destination Safely after Bomb Threat
NEW DELHI, Jan 10: The Azur Air international flight from Moscow which made an emergency landing at Jamnagar airport in Gujarat on Monday evening following a bomb threat, finally arrived at its destination Goa on Tuesday after nothing was found in the aircraft, an official said.
The flight, carrying 236 passengers and eight crew members, took off from the Jamnagar airport at around 1.20 p.m. more than 15 hours after it made the emergency landing there. It landed at the Dabolim Airport in Goa at 2.39 p.m., a senior official from the airport said.
Earlier, the National Security Guard (NSG) found nothing suspicious on-board the Moscow-Goa chartered flight, which was diverted to Gujarat’s Jamnagar after Goa ATC followed an alleged bomb threat, Jamnagar Airport director informed.
Security forces carried out an intensive search of the passengers on-board the Moscow-Goa chartered flight. “NSG has not found anything suspicious. The flight is expected to leave from Jamnagar to Goa, sometime between 10.30 am and 11 am. All the cabin baggage has been thoroughly checked,” Jamnagar Airport Director said.
The security agencies had cordoned off the airport for 9 hours. A total of 236 passengers and eight crew members were on the flight .They said all passengers were safely evacuated and escorted to the lounge inside the terminal building.
The Russian Embassy issued a statement saying they were alerted by the Indian authorities about the alleged bomb scare on the Azur Air flight en route from Moscow to Goa. “The Embassy was alerted by Indian authorities about an alleged bomb scare on Azur Air flight from Moscow to Goa. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Jamnagar Indian Air Force Base. Everyone on board is safe; authorities conducting an inspection of the aircraft,” said the Russian Embassy in a statement.
Jamnagar District Collector Saurabh Parghi said, “An intensive search was carried out by security agencies from 9.50 p.m. [on Jan. 9] till the morning hours,” he said, adding that security agencies were also verifying the passenger details. “Checking is done through routine scanning of passengers. Non-stop work has been on for nine hours. The baggage was checked and details verified,” he said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
