A plane carrying 161 passengers from Poland to Egypt has been forced to make an emergency landing in Bulgaria after a Polish passenger claimed there was a bomb on board the plane.
Upon landing at Burgas city’s airport, all passengers and crew members were evacuated from the Airbus A320 and the plane was swiftly searched for the reported bomb.
No explosive devices were found on board the plane, which was destined for the popular Egyptian resort of Hurghada. Police are now questioning the passenger who made the initial claim.
Georgy Tchipilsky, head of the airport in Burgas, said the Airbus A320 en route from Warsaw to the holiday resort of Hurghada requested an emergency landing due to a bomb threat.
The plane, operated by Lithuanian charter airline Small Planet, touched down in Burgas at 5:48 a.m. local time.
Tchipilsky said a 67-year-old Polish passenger who said there was a bomb on the plane was being questioned by the police.
Polish Vice Consul Jakub Lasinski said on TVN24 he was assured by Bulgarian authorities that the situation is ‘under full control.’ There were no reports of any explosives being found.
Passenger Agata Pinuszewska told TVN24 by phone that armed Bulgarian officers burst into the plane at Burgas airport shouting at the man ‘Where is the bomb?’ He was then led out and the other passengers were asked to leave the plane.
Pinuszewska said the passengers were waiting at the airport for another plane to come from Warsaw and take them to Hurghada.
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