Dois homens foram presos hoje (24) depois que caças da Força Aérea Britânica escoltaram um avião de passageiros que havia partido do Paquistão com destino ao Reino Unido.
Assim que a aeronave pousou, policiais embarcaram no voo PK709 da Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), que deveria pousar em Manchester, mas foi desviado para o Aeroporto de Stansted, em Londres.
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Squawk 7700 (emergency): PIA709 from LHE to MAN (B77W ). fr24.com/2013-05-24/13:…
— Flightradar24.com (@flightradar24) 24 de maio de 2013
Os dois homens, de 30 e 41 anos, são suspeitos de colocar a aeronave em risco, segundo a Polícia de Essex.
Um porta-voz da companhia aérea paquistanesa afirmou que todos os passageiros a bordo deixaram a aeronave em segurança.
O avião saiu de Lahore, capital da província de Punjab, no Nordeste do Paquistão, às 9h35 no horário local (1h35 de Brasília). A aeronave deveria chegar a Manchester às 10h (14h de Brasília).
A PIA informou que havia 308 passageiros a bordo, além de 14 tripulantes, incluindo os pilotos, de nacionalidades paquistanesa e britânica.
O correspondente de Defesa da BBC, Jonathan Beale, disse que houve indícios de uma ameaça durante o voo, com uso de algum tipo de arma ou bomba – embora a suspeita ainda não tenha sido confirmada pelas autoridades.
Um passageiro afirmou à BBC que o piloto comunicou aos ocupantes do voo que as ameaças eram reais. O Aeroporto de Stansted disse que o comandante da aeronave também alertou as autoridades sobre o incidente, mas não explicou o episódio em detalhes. Um porta-voz do aeroporto afirmou que os passageiros foram retirados da aeronave logo após o pouso.
Incident: PIA B773 near Manchester on May 24th 2013, safety threats on board
A PIA Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration AP-BID performing flight PK-709 from Lahore (Pakistan) to Manchester,EN (UK) with 297 passengers and 11 crew, was descending through FL220 about 80nm east of Manchester when the crew reported possible terror activity on board of the aircraft. While RAF fighter aircraft were dispatched to intercept the Boeing 777-300 and escort the aircraft to London Stansted,EN (UK) the aircraft turned south towards London maintaining FL160, landed safely on Stansted's runway 22 and taxied to a remote stand where security forces surrounded the aircraft.
Authorities reported two male passengers (30 and 41) were arrested charged with endangering an aircraft, the incident does not appear to be related to terror activity, this however can not be ruled out and is still subject of investigation.
The airline reported that two men were making threats against the aircraft, this was noticed by cabin crew who informed the captain, who advised air traffic control.
Sources within the airline reported a flight attendant overheard talks of a bomb on board.
Passengers reported that two men were repeatedly trying to get to the cockpit, those two males were later arrested. Initially the crew had announced they were diverting because of weather in Manchester, after landing and after the two men were arrested the crew explained there had been a terror threat prompting the crew to raise an alert.
A search of aircraft and passengers did not find any suspicious item. The aircraft was released and departed with all but the 2 arrested passengers to Manchester reaching the destination with a delay of 11 hours.
Britain is on high alert following the murder of a British soldier in South London that according to British Government has been linked to terror activity.
Authorities reported two male passengers (30 and 41) were arrested charged with endangering an aircraft, the incident does not appear to be related to terror activity, this however can not be ruled out and is still subject of investigation.
The airline reported that two men were making threats against the aircraft, this was noticed by cabin crew who informed the captain, who advised air traffic control.
Sources within the airline reported a flight attendant overheard talks of a bomb on board.
Passengers reported that two men were repeatedly trying to get to the cockpit, those two males were later arrested. Initially the crew had announced they were diverting because of weather in Manchester, after landing and after the two men were arrested the crew explained there had been a terror threat prompting the crew to raise an alert.
A search of aircraft and passengers did not find any suspicious item. The aircraft was released and departed with all but the 2 arrested passengers to Manchester reaching the destination with a delay of 11 hours.
Britain is on high alert following the murder of a British soldier in South London that according to British Government has been linked to terror activity.
O conteúdo é de Responsabilidade:Denilson Pereira da Silva
