PIA planes that received bomb threats cleared for flying
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The two of planes of Pakistan International Airlines, which received bomb threats while flying and were grounded at Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur, have been cleared to resume their flights.
PIA aircraft were given clearance after authorities at the two airports conducted thorough search, a PIA official said.
The official said the bomb threats were received through emails while the aircraft were in mid-air, and the identity of the sender and from where they came from are not yet known.
"It was a difficult few hours for the airlines as both flights were fully booked and we didn't want to cause panic among the passengers so it was decided to make the emergency landings to carry out a search for the bombs," he said.
In Istanbul where the aircraft bound to Manchester made a landing was searched after the authorities evacuated its 378 passengers and crew members.
A statement released by PIA read that an anonymous email was received by the PIA Cargo division last evening, indicating a bomb threat aboard two out bound flights from Lahore.
The threat was conveyed to Pakistani security agencies along with those in Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul.
An investigation by concerned security agencies is being conducted in this regard, the PIA statement concluded. Sniffer dogs were used to scour the plane for explosives which were parked at isolated bays.
The second plane flying to the Malaysian capital had 164 passengers on board. A security official said the bomb threats were taken seriously as on Wednesday suspected Taliban suicide bombers carried out attacks in Quetta killing 26 people and wounding around 80.
The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings, saying it was to avenge the recent arrests of al-Qaeda operatives.
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