Bomb threat forces plane reported to be from Israel to land in Bulgaria

Detailed summary

Bulgarian reports initially named Israel as the flight's origin, later switching to Italy Sofia: Bulgarian counter-terrorism officers searched a passenger aircraft at Sofia…

Bulgarian reports initially named Israel as the flight's origin, later switching to Italy

Sofia: Bulgarian counter-terrorism officers searched a passenger aircraft at Sofia Airport on Tuesday after an emailed bomb threat, the latest in a series of security alerts involving flights in Europe.

Lyubomir Nikolov, acting Secretary-General of Bulgaria's Interior Ministry, said specialist officers had been deployed to inspect the aircraft for possible explosives.

Bulgarian National Radio initially identified the plane as arriving from Israel but subsequently reported that it had flown from Bergamo, Italy. Several other Bulgarian outlets also identified Bergamo as its origin.

The aircraft landed around midday and underwent security inspections involving counter-terrorism officers and border police.

A passenger told Bulgarian news website Vesti.bg that the captain had warned those on board about the security checks approximately 30 minutes before landing.

Passengers were instructed to leave the aircraft individually and leave their luggage behind while officers conducted searches with trained dogs, according to the report.

They were later allowed to collect their belongings and were transported to the airport terminal.

Nikolov explained that authorities had received several threatening emails containing claims that explosive devices had been planted, with airlines increasingly becoming targets.

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