ROME, Aug 18: A British passenger plane made an emergency landing on Friday in Brindisi, southern Italy, after the pilot reported that a bomb was suspected to be on board, the Italian air traffic agency said.
All passengers disembarked and were safe, state police at the airport said. Salvatore De Paolis, a border police officer at the airport, said authorities searching the plane found a handwritten note in English that said there was a bomb on the plane. De Paolis told Sky Tg 24 television news that the search was continuing.
The plane, a Boeing 767 with Excel Airways, left from London’s Gatwick airport and was bound for Hurghada, Egypt, the ENAV agency said. De Paolis said it was carrying 280 passengers.
Italy’s Air Force said it sent an F-16 to intercept the plane before it landed.—AFP
