“The security agencies are checking the cargo,” said airport spokesman Manish Kalghatgi.
The plane, which touched down at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at about 11 p.m., was taken to an isolated bay where all the passengers disembarked before an anti-explosive squad searched the plane and the cargo hold, Kalghatgi said
All 244 passengers on board Delta flight 70 were evacuated safely, he said. “Delta staff in Amsterdam informed the pilot there may be unaccounted-for cargo on board,” he said.
“Full emergency was declared at the airport for Delta 70 Amsterdam-Mumbai flight which landed at 2320 hours,” an airport spokesman said. The airport remains on high alert, but other flights are operating normally, he said.
Delta Air Lines Inc. posted a statement on Twitter that read: “We requested rescreening of some cargo on flt 70 in Mumbai. Paxs deplaned safely and amp; we are working with authorities.”
“We requested rescreening of some cargo on flight 70 in Mumbai,” a Delta official tweeted, according to CNN. “We are working with authorities.”
Passengers have been asked to remain at the airport until all luggage and cargo searches are complete, said Rohit Sharma, who was outside the airport waiting for a relative who was on the flight.
The emergency for fire and rescue was withdrawn after 28 minutes even as the anti-bomb squad conducted the search which was on till last reports came in close to midnight.
Two package bombs sent via air freight from Yemen to the United States were found in Britain and the United Arab Emirates last week. One was diffused just 17 minutes before it was set to detonate, according to the French interior minister.
