3 men held after bomb hoax halts 2 flights

[Photo: the Beijing News]

Three airline passengers were detained yesterday after sparking bomb scares that forced two Juneyao Airlines flights to make emergency landings.

Flight HO1255 was en route from Shanghai to Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, when a man surnamed Miao passed a note to a member of the air crew saying his two friends, surnamed Yuan and Gao, had threatened to blow up the aircraft.

Though the alleged bombers had missed the flight, Miao said he had checked in their luggage and was worried it might contain an explosive device, the Shanghai-based airline said in a statement.

Miao passed the note about noon — two and a half hours after the flight left Hongqiao airport — and the plane was immediately diverted to Lanzhou Airport in northwest China's Gansu Province, where it landed safely at 1:30pm.

Juneyao discovered that Yuan and Gao had taken flight HO1229 to Urumqi, which left Hongqiao at 1:15pm. The captain was alerted and told to divert to Nanjing Lukou International Airport, where the plane landed at 2:22pm.

Police said inspections were carried out of all passengers and luggage on both flights but no hazardous materials were found. The flights were later allowed to continue on to Urumqi.

Jiangsu police said the three suspects had been detained for deliberately making false bomb threats.

Based on their initial findings, police said the trio bought tickets for a different flight from Shanghai to Urumqi, but missed it after failing to get to the airport on time. They then bought tickets for Juneyao Airlines flight HO1255, but only Miao made it as his friends were too busy shopping.

Yuan and Gao then purchased a third pair of tickets and boarded flight HO1229, police said.

A full investigation is now under way.

If found guilty, the three men are likely to face prison terms and might also be sued by Juneyao for the losses suffered by the costly diversions, officials said.