Goa-bound chartered flight from Moscow diverted to Uzbekistan after bomb threat

A Goa-bound chartered flight from Russia's capital Moscow with 240 passengers on board was diverted to Uzbekistan on January 21 following a bomb threat, reports said.

As per the reports, the flight was scheduled to land at the Dabolim airport in South Goa at 4.15 am.

The flight named Azur Air flight AZV2463 was diverted before it entered the Indian air space after an email was received at 12:30 am by the Dabolim airport director which claimed that a bomb was being planted on the plane.

Notably, this is the second such incident that occurred nearly two weeks.

On January 9, a flight that was on its way to Goa from Moscow was diverted to Gujarat's Jamnagar after Air Traffic Controller (ATC) received a bomb threat.

''Moscow-Goa chartered flight diverted to Jamnagar, Gujarat after Goa ATC received a bomb threat,'' media reports quoted officials as saying.

The reports further said that a total of 244 passengers onboard the flight landed safely at Jamnagar (defence) airport at 9:49 PM. Currently, aircraft and baggage are under isolation security.

The passengers from the flight were safely evacuated. However, in the latest development, the reports claimed that no threats have been found on the flight.

However, following the bomb threat, the Jamnagar airport was cordoned off by security agencies for nearly nine hours as the intensive checking of the aircraft was done.  

The plane was thoroughly checked by local authorities, along with police and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS).

Later, the Russian Embassy issued a statement saying that they were alerted by the Indian authorities about the alleged bomb scare on the flight.

"The Embassy was alerted by Indian authorities about an alleged bomb scare on Azur Air flight from Moscow to Goa. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Jamnagar Indian Air Force Base. Everyone on board is safe; authorities conducting an inspection of the aircraft," the Russian Embassy said.

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