Searches continue on the Indian plane landing in Erzurum: They have written "There is a bomb" on a napkin.

Search for bombs continues on the Air Vistara plane that made an emergency landing at Erzurum Airport. It was learned that the emergency landing was made after a passenger wrote "There is a bomb on the plane" on a napkin while the plane was in the air.

PASSENGER PLANE HEADING TO GERMANY MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING IN ERZURUM

Indian airline Air Vistara's plane, which was heading from India to Germany, received a bomb threat over Turkish airspace. The plane made an emergency landing at Erzurum Airport.

BOMB DISPOSAL EXPERTS ON THE PLANE

Passengers were evacuated from the plane that approached the apron. Security measures at the airport have been increased to the highest level. Bomb disposal experts from Erzurum Police Department, health, AFAD, and fire brigade teams were dispatched to the airport. The teams, along with 2 bomb disposal experts and 1 bomb search dog, are conducting a search on the plane. At the airport, 100 security personnel, 54 personnel, 14 ambulances, 3 National Medical Rescue Teams (UMKE), 7 rescue and 2 CBRN vehicles with 28 personnel, 6 vehicles with 24 fire brigade personnel, 1 crime scene investigation and 1 interpreter are on duty.

WROTE "THERE IS A BOMB ON THE PLANE" ON A NAPKIN AND LEFT IT IN THE TOILET

As the teams started searching for bombs on the plane, new details began to emerge. Erzurum Governor Mustafa Çiftçi stated, "When one of the passengers entered the lavatory, they left a note saying 'there is a bomb on the plane' and left. One of the flight attendants entered the lavatory and saw this note and informed the pilot. No information has been obtained about the person who left the note. At this stage, we want to complete the search of the plane first," he said.

ERZURUM AIRSPACE CLOSED TO FLIGHTS

Bomb disposal teams searched the cabin and cargo compartment of the plane. Erzurum airspace was also closed to flights as a precaution. In Erzurum, landings and take-offs were suspended until 21:00 due to the emergency situation.

AFTER ORDU AND TRABZON, IT WAS ABLE TO LAND IN ERZURUM

Erzurum Governor Mustafa Çiftçi said in a statement, "When a bomb threat was made in the air, the plane belonging to Vistara Airlines first wanted to land at Ordu Airport. However, due to renovation work there, they directed it to Trabzon. Since air traffic was heavy there as well, they allowed it to land in Erzurum," he said.

"SEARCH IN THE FRONT SECTION OF THE PLANE IS COMPLETE"

Erzurum Governor Mustafa Çiftçi stated, "Our bomb search dog is currently inside the plane. The search in the front section of the plane has been completed. In the meantime, considering that the work may take longer, we requested a bomb search dog from our Gendarmerie Command. The search is still ongoing," he said.

"LUGGAGE WILL BE BROUGHT DOWN TO THE RUNWAY"

Governor Çiftçi continued his statement as follows: After the search is completed, the luggage underneath will be brought down to the runway. Our search dogs will also search them. Then the cabin luggage will be examined. After they are also subjected to the necessary search scans, if the bomb threat turns out to be false, the passengers will be allowed inside. Currently, landings and take-offs have been suspended. After this work is completed and this emergency situation is resolved, landings and take-offs will be able to continue at our airport. These are our initial findings.

"WE DON'T KNOW WHEN THE SEARCH WILL END"

The plane made an emergency landing at our airport around 16:30. The work is still ongoing. We don't know when it will end. After the search is completed and if the threat turns out to be false, the plane will depart from our airport.

The passengers on the plane do not have any health problems. After receiving such a notification and after the plane's landing at the airport was determined, the entire team took precautions. 100 security personnel took precautions. AFAD, Fire Brigade, and our ambulances took the necessary precautions. Currently, there is no information about any passenger experiencing health problems. No information has been obtained about the person who left the note. At this stage, we want to complete the search process first. Then it will be their turn. We are investigating whether the threat is true or not. Currently, we have taken all the passengers to the international section, to the external areas, and we have not checked their passports in any way. Currently, we do not know the nationality status of the passengers on the plane. "

THERE ARE 247 PASSENGERS ON THE PLANE

The plane, which has a capacity of 600 people, has 247 passengers. Vistara Airlines also made a statement regarding the emergency landing. The statement said, "Flight UK27, which was scheduled from Mumbai to Frankfurt (BOM-FRA), was redirected to Turkey (Erzurum Airport) due to security reasons and landed safely at 17:05."

STATEMENT FROM MINISTER YERLİKAYA

Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya made the following statement on his Twitter account regarding the incident: "Today, a note saying 'There is a bomb on the plane' was found in the toilet of the passenger plane operating VTI027 flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt, and the plane made an emergency landing at Erzurum Airport around 16:30. 234 passengers and 13 crew members were safely evacuated from the plane. Search operations are still ongoing with 2 bomb disposal experts and 1 search dog inside the plane.At the airport, necessary precautions have been taken by AFAD, Fire Department, Health, Security, UMKE, and DHMI teams. Due to an emergency situation, landing and takeoff are not allowed at Erzurum Airport until 21:00. "

MINISTER URALOĞLU: SEARCH OPERATIONS CONTINUE

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu made the following statement: "A passenger plane belonging to Vistara Airlines, which took off from Mumbai, India, to Frankfurt, Germany, made an emergency call at 15:38 due to a bomb threat while in Turkish airspace. With the necessary coordination provided by the State Airports Authority, security measures were taken, and the plane landed smoothly at Erzurum Airport at 16:38.

A total of 237 passengers and 14 crew members were safely evacuated, and search operations on the plane are ongoing. Initial inspections have not revealed any negative findings on the passengers and crew. Erzurum Airport has been closed to air traffic until 21:00 for security reasons. After the necessary investigations, developments will be shared with the public. "