Delhi-Varanasi IndiGo flight receives bomb threat, search underway
Passengers of an IndiGo Airline flight from Delhi to Varanasi were evacuated at Delhi airport after it received a bomb threat on Tuesday morning, news agencies reported. The aircraft has been moved to isolation bay and further investigations are being carried out.
Aviation security and a bomb disposal team are currently on site, a Delhi airport official told news agency ANI.
In a video posted by news agency PTI, passengers of the IndiGo flight are seen being evacuated via an emergency exit following the bomb threat.
“IndiGo flight 6E2211 operating from Delhi to Varanasi had received a specific bomb threat at Delhi airport. All necessary protocols were followed and aircraft was taken to a remote bay as per guidelines by airport security agencies. All passengers were safely evacuated via the emergency exits. The flight is currently undergoing inspection. Post completion of all security checks, the aircraft will be positioned back in the terminal area,” IndiGo said in a statement.
According to the Delhi fire service, “There was news of a bomb on the flight going from Delhi to Varanasi at 5:35am today. A Quick Response Teams (QRT) arrived at the spot”.
Delhi Airport Authorities confirmed that all passengers were safe.
“All passengers are safe and the flight is undergoing a detailed inspection. All passengers were evacuated through the emergency exits without incident” and airport spokesperson said. Further updates will be provided as the investigation continues.
It was not immediately clear how many passengers were onboard the flight.
The development comes a day after the Mumbai Police said it received a threat call in which a caller mentioned that bombs had been placed at Taj Hotel and at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in the city. The police carried out searches at the premises but nothing suspicious was found.
Earlier on Sunday, the Mumbai Police control room received a bomb threat call in which the caller informed the cops that there would be a blast at McDonald’s located in Dadar.
Police said the caller mentioned that while travelling in a bus, he overheard a conversation between two people about “blowing up McDonald’s”.
Police added that they did not find any suspicious objects at the spot.
On Wednesday last week, the Delhi police said the control room in North Block, which houses the ministry of home affairs received a bomb threat mail. This came after several schools in Delhi-NCR, Jaipur, Uttar Pradesh and Bengaluru had received bomb threats via emails, creating a panic situation. However, all threat emails to schools turned out to be hoaxes.