Turkish plane makes Sudan emergency landing after bomb scare

 KHARTOUM – Agence France-Presse

A Turkish Airlines jet carrying 107 passengers from Nairobi to Cairo made an emergency landing in Khartoum on Nov. 30 after a passenger reported a bomb threat, a Sudanese aviation official said.

"Turkish Airlines flight 606 made an emergency landing after a passenger on board said he received an e-mail saying there was a bomb on board," civil aviation authority spokesman Abdelhafiz Abdelrahim told AFP.

"All 107 passengers have been safely evacuated."

He said that when the plane was in Sudanese airspace, the pilot informed Khartoum airport that he needed to make an emergency landing. The plane landed at about 7:30 a.m. (5:30 GMT).

"The plane is now in an isolated area of the airport. Security officials searched the plane and passengers' luggage but didn't find anything suspicious," Abdelrahim said.

Another source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the passenger who reported the e-mail was a Briton.

"The British passenger received the e-mail and he informed the crew. He is now under investigation," the source said.