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| Air France investigates suspected bomb on plane heading to Paris | Air France investigates suspected bomb on plane heading to Paris |
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| An Air France plane on its way to Paris was forced to make an emergency landing in Mombasa after a suspicious device, which the Kenyan Airport Authority said was a bomb, was found in the jet’s lavatory. | An Air France plane on its way to Paris was forced to make an emergency landing in Mombasa after a suspicious device, which the Kenyan Airport Authority said was a bomb, was found in the jet’s lavatory. |
| Flight AF463, with 459 passengers and 14 crew members on board, had left Mauritius at 9pm local time (1700 GMT) on Saturday and was due to arrive in Paris Charles de Gaulle at 5.50am (0450 GMT). | Flight AF463, with 459 passengers and 14 crew members on board, had left Mauritius at 9pm local time (1700 GMT) on Saturday and was due to arrive in Paris Charles de Gaulle at 5.50am (0450 GMT). |
| After the suspicious device was discovered, the plane landed at Moi international airport in Mombasa before 1am. Air France and the Kenyan police both said investigators were working to confirm whether the package was a bomb. | After the suspicious device was discovered, the plane landed at Moi international airport in Mombasa before 1am. Air France and the Kenyan police both said investigators were working to confirm whether the package was a bomb. |
| A spokesman for the airline said: “We are still awaiting the end of the investigation by the Kenyan authorities to see if it was a bomb.” | A spokesman for the airline said: “We are still awaiting the end of the investigation by the Kenyan authorities to see if it was a bomb.” |
| He said the passengers on the aborted flight were all being accommodated in a nearby hotel and they would depart from Mombasa at 6pm on Sunday on a new aircraft dispatched from Paris, arriving in the capital at 7am on Monday. Alexandre de Juniac, the airline’s chief executive, was expected to hold a press conference in Paris on Sunday afternoon. | He said the passengers on the aborted flight were all being accommodated in a nearby hotel and they would depart from Mombasa at 6pm on Sunday on a new aircraft dispatched from Paris, arriving in the capital at 7am on Monday. Alexandre de Juniac, the airline’s chief executive, was expected to hold a press conference in Paris on Sunday afternoon. |
| “A number of passengers are still under interrogation as part of the probe and we don’t want to talk more before we establish what and who was behind it,” he said. | “A number of passengers are still under interrogation as part of the probe and we don’t want to talk more before we establish what and who was behind it,” he said. |
| However, the airport authority said unequivocally in a statement on its Facebook page that an explosive device was retrieved from the plane. “Bomb experts from the Kenya navy took the bomb away to safety,” it said. “The Kenyan security is zeroing in on two passengers who appear suspicious. | However, the airport authority said unequivocally in a statement on its Facebook page that an explosive device was retrieved from the plane. “Bomb experts from the Kenya navy took the bomb away to safety,” it said. “The Kenyan security is zeroing in on two passengers who appear suspicious. |
| “The Mombasa security team and airport security in Mombasa have also secured the airport and all critical facilities around. The bomb has been taken to safe destination for detonation in the morning.” | “The Mombasa security team and airport security in Mombasa have also secured the airport and all critical facilities around. The bomb has been taken to safe destination for detonation in the morning.” |
| A Kenyan police official also said six passengers were being questioned over the device. The police official, who insisted on anonymity, said during the flight a passenger noticed something in a lavatory that looked like “a stopwatch mounted on a box”. | A Kenyan police official also said six passengers were being questioned over the device. The police official, who insisted on anonymity, said during the flight a passenger noticed something in a lavatory that looked like “a stopwatch mounted on a box”. |
| Th passenger who raised the alarm is among those being interrogated, he said. | Th passenger who raised the alarm is among those being interrogated, he said. |
| Kenyan police spokesman Charles Owino said of flight AF463: “It requested an emergency landing after a device suspected to be a bomb was discovered in the lavatory, an emergency was prepared and it landed safely and all passengers evacuated. | Kenyan police spokesman Charles Owino said of flight AF463: “It requested an emergency landing after a device suspected to be a bomb was discovered in the lavatory, an emergency was prepared and it landed safely and all passengers evacuated. |
| “Bomb experts from the navy and the CID were called in and took the device, which they are dismantling to establish if it had any explosives.” | “Bomb experts from the navy and the CID were called in and took the device, which they are dismantling to establish if it had any explosives.” |
| The plane was still in Mombasa airport early on Sunday morning, he added. Kenyan television station NTV reported that at least one passenger was in custody. Kenyan website Standard Digital News quoted an unnamed official as saying: “It is a real bomb and it could have exploded airborne or on arriving in Paris. More will be disclosed but we have a suspect in custody.” | The plane was still in Mombasa airport early on Sunday morning, he added. Kenyan television station NTV reported that at least one passenger was in custody. Kenyan website Standard Digital News quoted an unnamed official as saying: “It is a real bomb and it could have exploded airborne or on arriving in Paris. More will be disclosed but we have a suspect in custody.” |
| A passenger who identified himself as Benoit Lucchini, from Paris, told journalists: “The plane just went down slowly, slowly, slowly, so we just realised probably something was wrong. The personnel of Air France were just great, they were just wonderful. So they keep everybody calm. We did not know what was happening. So we secured the seatbelt to land in Mombasa because we thought it was a technical problem but actually it was not a technical problem. It was something in the toilet, something wrong in the toilet, it could be a bomb.” | A passenger who identified himself as Benoit Lucchini, from Paris, told journalists: “The plane just went down slowly, slowly, slowly, so we just realised probably something was wrong. The personnel of Air France were just great, they were just wonderful. So they keep everybody calm. We did not know what was happening. So we secured the seatbelt to land in Mombasa because we thought it was a technical problem but actually it was not a technical problem. It was something in the toilet, something wrong in the toilet, it could be a bomb.” |
| Scheduled flights to Mombasa were initially disrupted but normal operations later resumed. | Scheduled flights to Mombasa were initially disrupted but normal operations later resumed. |
| Flight AF463 is the third Air France plane to be diverted in recent weeks. Two flights from the US to Paris were diverted on 18 November after bomb threats were received but no bombs were found. France has been in a state of emergency since the 13 November attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead and hundreds wounded. | Flight AF463 is the third Air France plane to be diverted in recent weeks. Two flights from the US to Paris were diverted on 18 November after bomb threats were received but no bombs were found. France has been in a state of emergency since the 13 November attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead and hundreds wounded. |
| Islamic State extremists claimed responsibility for the attacks in Paris as well as for the 31 October crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai desert that killed all 224 people on board. Moscow says that crash was caused by a bomb on the plane and has demanded that Egypt increase security at all its airports. |