News
Bomb scare: SriLankan flight in emergency landing at Stansted
A SriLankan Airlines flight to the Heathrow airport in London was forced to make an emergency landing at the nearby Stansted Airport instead, when a drunken British deportee allegedly created a bomb scare. Soon after Sri Lankan Airlines 503 landed at 7.30 pm with a full complement of 267 passengers and crew, the Essex Police arrested two Britons, one aged 49 and the other 57.
Whilst one of them is in custody, the other was undergoing treatment at a hospital for an unspecified ailment, Essex Police said.
In Colombo, SriLankan Airlines spokesperson Deepal Perera said a passenger had overheard one of the British nationals, Alan Patey (57) saying he had a bomb on his unaccompanied baggage. The passenger had conveyed it to a crew member who in turn had alerted the pilot. The pilot had immediately got in touch with Stansted Airport, the nearest before Heathrow, and the authorities had alerted the Essex Police, he said.
But later it was found that the passenger concerned had no baggage.The SriLankan Airlines Airbus A330 aircraft was moved to a secluded area and the Essex Police took the two Britons into custody. The remaining passengers were taken in coaches from Stansted to the Heathrow airport. The Briton who is in hospital has been identified as a Michael Champion.
The deportation of the two British nationals came after they were found to have been responsible for a number of offences. One of them had been charged in a Magistrate’s Court for not paying his hotel bill. The other had remained in a private nursing home and not paid his bill.
Reports from London said the Essex Police were likely to file action against the two Britons for endangering the lives of the other passengers. The Stansted Airport is located 48 kilometres northeast of London while Heathrow is in the Greater London area.
comments powered by Disqus