NY to Moscow passenger jet emergency landing after bomb threat
PA
A passenger plane flying from JFK Airport in New York to Moscow made and emergency landing in Iceland after an anonymous caller claimed there was a bomb on board.
NBC News reports that a spokeswoman for Russian airline Aeroflot, Irina Dannenberg, said: "There was an anonymous call saying that there was an explosive device on the plane, which was already in the air.
"The pilot took the decision to land the plane and it landed safely. A search is being conducted."
According to Reuters, a spokesman for Iceland's Keflavik airport, said there were 253 people on board the Aeroflot Flight 103.
Fridthor Eydal added: "The bomb threat was made sometime earlier in the morning and at 5.30am British time the plane decided to head for Keflavik ... The aeroplane landed safely at 6.27am."
Reuters reports that a call had been made to US law enforcement agencies claiming that five suitcases were filled with explosives and that they would detonate upon arrival at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.
According to the BBC, the plane, luggage, and passengers are now being investigated.
On Thursday afternoon, emergency teams also searched an aeroplane in the city of Voronezh, 500 km (300 miles) south of Moscow, for explosives after an antonymous phone call was made to the city's airport, but no bomb was found.
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