The Hindu : Front Page : Mexican passenger threatens to blow up Indian aircraft

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Thursday, Mar 22, 2007
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Mexican passenger threatens to blow up Indian aircraft

Special Correspondent

PHOTO: ARUNANGSU ROY CHOWDHURY

MID-AIR PANIC: Eduardo Antonio, a Mexican national, who threatened to blow up a Bangkok-Delhi flight mid-air, being taken to a police station in Kolkata on Wednesday.

KOLKATA: A Delhi-bound Indian aircraft from Bangkok made an emergency landing at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport here on Wednesday after a passenger, said to be a Mexican, threatened to blow up the plane mid-air.

The passenger aboard Flight IC-854 was in an inebriated state and misbehaved with the crewmembers and co-passengers. He reportedly assaulted a passenger.

He was overpowered after he threatened that he was in a position to blow up the aircraft, airport sources said.

On being alerted by the crewmembers, the pilot of the aircraft that was over-flying Kolkata contacted Air Traffic Control here and sought permission for an emergency landing.

It landed shortly after 3 p.m. By then, commandos and a bomb squad had taken up positions. No explosives were found on the passenger, who was detained for interrogation.

The other passengers and crewmembers disembarked safely after security personnel surrounded the aircraft immediately after it landed.

The plane was then taken to the isolation bay. The aircraft took off for New Delhi later in the evening.

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