Hoax bomb threats target Chennai-Mumbai IndiGo flight, CSMIA, and 60 hospitals
PTC News Desk: After receiving a bomb threat, an IndiGo flight from Chennai to Mumbai made a full emergency landing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Tuesday at 10:24 p.m.
After landing, the aircraft was brought to an isolation bay and examined in detail by members of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). There were seven crew members and 196 passengers on board aircraft 6E 5149.
An IndiGo representative stated, "All passengers have safely disembarked the aircraft." "We are collaborating with the security agencies, and the aircraft will be positioned back in the terminal area once all security checks have been completed."
The event happened on a day when emails threatening bombs were received by 41 airports nationwide, including CSMIA. This prompted officials to quickly organize backup plans and conduct extensive anti-sabotage inspections. It turned out that none of the threats were real. According to sources at the Mumbai airport cited by PTI, the threat was "non-specific," meaning it had no effect on services.
The airports received nearly identical emails that said, "Hello, there are explosives hidden in the airport." The explosives will go off soon. Every one of you will perish. These fictitious threat emails appear to have been sent by an internet organization known as "KNR."
Earlier on June 3, an Akasa Air flight from Delhi to Mumbai was rerouted to Ahmedabad due to a bomb threat. A bomb threat was received on June 2 by a Vistara flight traveling from Paris to Mumbai; as a result, the Mumbai airport declared a full emergency before the airplane arrived. After receiving a bomb threat on June 1, an IndiGo flight carrying 172 passengers from Chennai to Mumbai had to make an emergency landing in Mumbai.
Hospital affected too
The targets extended beyond airports and airlines. Over the past two days, fictitious emails concerning bombs stored on their property have also been sent to roughly sixty hospitals in Mumbai. The police claimed that both public and private hospitals were included in this.
"As soon as the hospitals received the emails, they notified the local police and conducted extensive investigations. According to the emails, the devices were stored in restrooms and beneath mattresses. A police officer stated, "The hospitals conducted anti-sabotage inspections right away and found nothing.
Among the hospitals that got the emails were Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, SL Raheja Hospital, SevenHills Hospital, Bhabha Hospital, Saint George Hospital, Hiranandani Hospital, and KEM Hospital.
According to the police, a virtual private network was used to send each email.
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- With inputs from agencies
