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Delta Airlines jet lands in Mumbai with suspicious cargo (UPDATE)

Other News Materials 5 November 2010 02:30 (UTC +04:00)
A Delta Airlines plane landed late Thursday in Mumbai under what were described as emergency conditions, after an unidentified object was reported to be in the plane's cargo hold, Indian media reports said.
Delta Airlines jet lands in Mumbai with suspicious cargo (UPDATE)

A Delta Airlines plane landed late Thursday in Mumbai under what were described as emergency conditions, after an unidentified object was reported to be in the plane's cargo hold, Indian media reports said.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) cited an airport spokesman as saying that a "full emergency was declared at the airport for Delta 70 Amsterdam-Mumbai flight, which landed at 11:20 pm (1750 GMT)."

The plane was carrying 244 passengers. After landing at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the passengers immediately disembarked at an isolated bay at the airport for a thorough search by security officers. PTI said that fire and rescue crews were withdrawn from the scene after 28 minutes, dpa reported.

A bomb squad continued to search the plane until close to midnight local time, the PTI account said.

"Upon landing in Mumbai, we requested a precautionary re- screeening of a cargo shipment onboard flight 70," a Delta spokeswoman said in a statement. "All passengers were safely deplaned, and we are cooperating with authorities in their assessment."

The airline, based in Atlanta, Georgia, could not provide more information on whether the security threat had passed but said passengers had been able to claim their luggage.

Earlier reports said that the tip about the unidentified object was provided by a Delta employee in Amsterdam.

The incident comes after parcel bombs sent from Yemen were found in two US-bound planes last week, triggering heightened surveillance in international aviation.

US President Barack Obama is to arrive Saturday in Mumbai for a three-day India visit.

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