Israel blocks 'bomb threat' plane

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 From the BBC   http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3717246.stm


Israeli jet fighters have prevented an incoming Lufthansa airliner from
landing after a bomb alert that German officials had not considered serious.

Flight LH686 from Frankfurt landed in Larnaca, Cyprus and has been searched
by security staff.

"We wanted to fly to Tel Aviv but the Israeli authorities forced us to land
in Larnaca," said a Lufthansa official.

Six passenger jets - including three Greek planes - have now been diverted
after bomb hoaxes in the last 10 days.

  Lufthansa said that a bomb alert had been received shortly after the
flight left Frankfurt at 0810 GMT (1010 local time).

"After checking with the German authorities we came to the conclusion this
bomb threat was not so serious," said Lufthansa spokesman Thomas Jachnow.

"We accept the decision of the Israeli government, but we are sure this
bomb warning wasn't serious," he added.

'Arabic accent'

There were 331 passengers and 16 crew on board the Boeing 747-400 jet.

Cypriot civil aviation officials said the plane had landed at 1208 GMT
(1508 local time).

Cypriot justice minister Doros Theodorou granted permission for the plane
to land in Larnaca and mobilised bomb squads, bomb detectors and local
civil aviation officials.

Everyone on board was evacuated from the aircraft as security experts began
a search of the plane, which was parked two kilometres from the terminal
building as a security precaution.

Sniffer dogs were used to search for explosives hidden inside the cockpit
and cabin areas.

A Lufthansa spokeswoman in Athens said the flight would be delayed by four
hours, AFP reported.

An Israeli spokesman for Lufthansa, Yitzhak Zaroni, told Israel television
station Channel 10 that the caller had spoken with an Arabic accent.

"While the plane was in the air, there was a telephone call in Germany that
said there was an explosive device on the plane," Mr Zaroni said.

German security officials concluded that the threat was a false alarm and
authorised the plane to continue its journey to Tel Aviv, the Israeli
newpsaper Ma'ariv reported on its website.

But Israeli transport minister Meir Shirit instructed the plane to land in
Cyprus as a precaution, the newspaper added.

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