IAF aircraft scramble after bomb threat in Iranian passenger flight

Delhi Police on Monday said it received a call about a bomb scare on board an Iran-China flight from the Air Traffic Control but was soon informed that it was not landing in Delhi, officials said.

Delhi Fire Services was also informed about the flight and two fire tenders were put on standby at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

“We got a call from the ATC informing us about a bomb scare on the Tehran-China flight. But as we were making arrangements, we were informed by the ATC that the flight was not landing in Delhi,” a senior police officer said.

Delhi Fire Services said the fire control room received a call regarding the bomb scare around 9.25 am.

“As per our standing operating procedure, two fire tenders along with senior officers were on standby,” Deputy Chief Fire Officer Sanjay Tomar told PTI.

“All the nearby fire stations were also informed to stay alert in case extra tenders would be required. But the flight did not land in Delhi and we got an all-clear message at 10.05 am from the airport security,” he said.

The Indian Air Force scrambled its fighter aircraft following the bomb scare on board the civilian plane bearing Iranian registration.

“IAF fighter aircraft were scrambled, which followed the aircraft at a safe distance. The aircraft was offered the option to land at Jaipur and then, at Chandigarh. However, the pilot declared his unwillingness to divert to either of the two airports.

“After a while, intimation was received from Tehran to disregard the bomb scare, following which, the aircraft continued on its journey towards its final destination,” the IAF said.

According to ATC sources, the incident happened on the Mahan Air flight W581 that was flying from Tehran to Guangzhou.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)