An Air France flight from Port Louis, Mauritius to Paris was forced to make an emergency landing in Kenya Sunday morning, after a bomb was found on board.
Pilots reportedly made an urgent request to land the plane after a “suspicious package” was discovered in the bathroom.
In the last few minutes Kenya’s Airports Authority has confirmed the package was in fact an explosive device.
The flight was carrying 473 passengers and crew. In an apparent – and successful – bid to keep passengers calm, crew members said the plane would be landing to due a “technical” problem. Only after they were evacuated from the plane did travelers realize what a luck escape they had had.
Moi International Airport was briefly shut down while Kenyan authorities evacuated the plane and experts from the Kenyan Navy moved in to evaluate and diffuse the bomb. Flights from the airport have since resumed.
Kenyan security services are currently questioning a number of suspects.
A bomb was found on board an Air France flight heading to Paris on Sunday after a suspicious device was discovered in one of the plane’s toilets.
Air France Flight 463 was flying from Port Louis, Mauritius toward Paris, France, when it made an emergency landing in Mombasa, Kenya, according to the Kenya Airports Authority,
Police Inspector General Joseph Boinnet said on his Twitter account that the Boeing 777 aircraft carrying 459 passengers and 14 crew, was safely evacuated after it landed at the airport at 12:37 a.m. on Sunday, local time.
Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said that an undisclosed number of passengers who were aboard the flight and were being questioned about the suspect device, but did not say if they were under arrest.
“We are in touch with Mauritius to know how security screening of passengers was done. A few passengers are being interrogated,” he said.
“They are (being) taken care of by Mombasa’s airport ground staff and will be accommodated. An investigation is being led by the authorities to identify the source of the threat,” it said.
The airline said it was working to re-route its passengers and was sending another plane to Mombasa to fly them to Paris.
“This Mombasa – Paris flight is scheduled to leave in the late afternoon of Sunday, December 20,” it said.
Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said on its Twitter account that flights from Mombasa airport were disrupted due to the emergency landing and the Airport Authority said that the airport and all nearby facilities have been secured.