Nothing Suspicious Found After Bomb Threat On Moscow-Goa Flight: Sources

Nothing suspicious was found on the Moscow-Goa flight which was diverted to Gujarat's Jamnagar after a bomb threat on Monday, sources have said. The flight, with 244 on board, is expected to leave from Jamnagar to Goa between 10:30 am to 11 am today.

The National Security Guard (NSG) carried out an extensive search of the plane and the luggage it was carrying. All passengers are being provided help, the sources said. 

"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," said Jamnagar Airport Director, as quoted by news agency ANI. 

Following a bomb threat, the flight from Moscow, which was supposed to land at Goa's Dabolim airport, landed at Jamnagar (defence) airport at 9:49 pm on Monday. The airlines had received a "threat mail" which was shared with Russian authorities. When the first information was shared, the plane was over Turkmenistan, sources have said. The Goa airport was immediately alerted before the plane was diverted to Jamnagar as it had an air force base equipped to deal with emergencies. 

"All the 236 passengers and crew members (8) were evacuated safely and the plane is being checked by local authorities along with the police and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad," Inspector General of Police (Rajkot and Jamnagar Range), Ashok Kumar Yadav had said.

The Russian Embassy has issued a statement saying that they were alerted by the Indian authorities about the alleged bomb scare on the flight.

"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.

Security forces had cordoned off the Jamnagar airport for nine hours. There are a total of 236 passengers on board the plane along with eight crew members.