Bomb threat on tissue paper in IndiGo flight forces emergency landing at Lucknow airport
Lucknow (PTI): An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Bagdogra in West Bengal carrying 222 passengers made an emergency landing at the Lucknow airport on Sunday after a handwritten note on a tissue paper bearing the words "Plane mein bomb" (bomb on the plane) was found in the aircraft, police said.
The airline said that the plane was "diverted" to Lucknow after a "security threat" was detected on board.
All passengers, including eight infants, and seven crew members were safely evacuated, officials said, adding bomb disposal squads, security agencies and airport authorities launched a thorough check of the plane after it was parked in the isolation bay.
In a press statement, an IndiGo spokesperson said that a "security threat was noticed onboard IndiGo flight 6E 6650 operating from Delhi to Bagdogra on 18 January due to which the aircraft was diverted to Lucknow".
"Following the established protocol, we informed the relevant authorities immediately and are fully cooperating with them in carrying out the necessary security checks," it said.
"We are making all efforts to minimise inconvenience to our customers, including offering them refreshments and sharing regular updates. As always, safety and security of our customers, crew and aircraft are our topmost priorities," the statement added.
According to officials, Air Traffic Control (ATC) received information at around 8.46 AM about a bomb threat on IndiGo flight 6E-6650. Acting on the alert and following prescribed security protocols, the aircraft was diverted and made a safe emergency landing at Lucknow airport at 9.17 am.
According to a statement issued by the Lucknow police commissionerate, after landing, the aircraft was immediately parked in an isolation bay.
A handwritten note on a tissue paper was found in the aircraft bearing the words "Plane mein bomb" (bomb on the plane), the police said.
Further investigation and necessary legal action are underway. The situation remains under control, they said.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
