Bomb scare aboard Jakarta-bound Garuda Indonesia plane

[News_Editor]

Bomb scare aboard Jakarta-bound Garuda Indonesia plane

2011-10-06 12:45:48 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- A Garuda Indonesia passenger plane landed safely at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Wednesday after a bomb threat was received at the airline's headquarters.

The aircraft, with flight number GA-601, had taken off from Sam Ratulangi International Airport, located just north of Manado in North Sulawesi, and was headed towards the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.

Garuda Indonesia officials said their national media offices received the bomb threat through a fax at around 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday while the aircraft was in mid flight. According to reports, the message said the bomb was timed to go off at 3.40 p.m. local time, 30 minutes before the plane's scheduled arrival in Jakarta.

The flight, however, landed at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport without incident and was immediately isolated in a secure area at the northern end of the runway in order for security teams and bomb squads to carry out inspections.

A total of 105 passengers were quickly evacuated from the aircraft, and security teams searched the individuals one by one while bomb squads inspected the aircraft. Security personnel, however, did not find any explosive devices or any other suspicious objects.

An investigation has been launched into the source of the bomb threat.

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