TEL AVIV, June 24: French President Nicolas Sarkozy was rushed off to his plane on Tuesday when a shot rang out as an Israeli policeman committed suicide during an airport departure ceremony.

“A border policeman commited suicide at Ben Gurion airport at the time when French President Sarkozy was about to leave Israel,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.Confusion over where the shots came from caused moments of panic and bodyguards rushed Sarkozy and first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy to their plane at Ben Gurion airport.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres were escorted towards their armoured cars.

The police spokesman said the incident happened about 200 metres from where Sarkozy was standing alongside Olmert and Peres.

A government statement added that “emergency procedures were immediately activated” while the police said it had opened an investigation into the suicide.

Once it became evident there was no security risk, Olmert and Peres boarded the plane to bid farewell to Sarkozy, who had spent three days in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

The plane’s doors were shut until the scare was over.—AFP