Edited by Bev Mortimer: The SAPS has registered a criminal case of ‘Contravention of the Explosives Act’ n South Africa, following a call from an unknown person a minute before 8 am yesterday morning announcing there was a bomb on a plane travelling to King Phalo Airport (East London/KuGompo City).
The SAPS are trying to locate the caller who announced to Passenger Services at the airport that there was a bomb on the Safair flight traveling from Johannesburg to EL. After thorough investigations the SAPS says the bomb threat was ‘a false alarm’.
The Safair flight from OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg was still mid-air at the time of the call from an unknown number. The SAPS warns that making ‘a false bomb threat’ in South Africa is a serious criminal offence carrying a potential sentence of about 10 years in prison.
The KuGompo Explosives Unit received the news of the bomb threat at the airport and the Bomb Disposal, K9 Explosive Detection Dogs, Airport Security, hostage negotiator, fire department, and Emergency Medical Services were activated.
All 184 passengers, pilots, and cabin crew safely disembarked 50 minutes after the Safair plane landing at 8.39 am. The plane was ‘taxied’ to a remote part of the airport and passengers were met by a several police officers.
A thorough search of the Safair aircraft and all luggage was conducted by the SAPS team. No explosives, explosive devices, suspicious objects, or hazardous materials were found. The scene was declared ‘all clear’ and handed back to airport security.
The passengers had a tiring , if not gruelling day ahead of them. They were taken to a secluded terminal and they could not leave that terminal, isolated from the general public, while the specialised police units and K9 teams conducted searches of the plane and luggage.
The passengers had to wait until the “all clear” was given and they could then finally collect their luggage at 4.43 pm yesterday.
The airport itself continued to act normally throughout the day with other planes arriving and departing normally.
The SAPS has asked the public not to speculate and to allow security agencies to conduct their work without interference. “No further details can be shared at this stage to protect the integrity of the investigation,” the SAPS says.
(This story is likely to be updated further. Keep watching here... Ed , See photos at https://www.facebook.com/stfranchronicle/:)
