IA plane makes an emergency landing in Dubai

Dubai, Sept 14: An Indian Airlines flight from Mumbai to Dubai made an emergency landing at a military base here when the pilot received an alert that there were two bombers on board who might hijack the plane.

The pilot was asked to return to Mumbai as it was about to reach the UAE airspace with 145 passengers on board on Tuesday night, but there was not enough fuel, forcing the captain to seek clearance for landing in Dubai, news reports said.

Dubai authorities diverted flight IC 683 to the airbase and full security measures were taken to ensure the safety of passengers and the aircraft.

The passengers were allowed to disembark, and after their security check, and that of their baggage, they were taken by buses to Dubai airport for immigration clearance.

Officials admitted that the hoax call was made to Indian Airlines office in Delhi from a public telephone and the two names of suspected bombers were included in the passenger manifest by mistake, leading to the scare.

The plane was refuelled at the air base and flew back to Dubai International Airport from where the flight left for Mumbai yesterday morning at 0500 hrs.

UNI