COLOMBO, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Police are investigating a hoax security alert involving a passenger aircraft that arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Sunday morning, police said.
The alert was triggered by an email sent to the airport's official address claiming that four individuals on board a flight from Doha, Qatar, were preparing to carry out an explosion. The aircraft landed at BIA at 8:27 a.m. with 245 passengers.
Airport authorities contacted the pilot after receiving the message, who replied that no security threat was identified on board. Despite this, officials followed standard safety protocols and directed the aircraft to a secure isolation area after landing, where passengers and crew were disembarked, police said.
A comprehensive inspection of the aircraft was carried out with the assistance of the bomb disposal unit and other security agencies, police said. No suspicious items were found during the search.
Following the clearance, the aircraft was returned to normal operations at the airport and later departed for Doha at 1:07 p.m., police added.
Police said the incident was a hoax, similar to a false bomb threat reported on Dec. 26 at the Kandy District Secretariat. Preliminary investigations indicate that both electronic messages originated from outside Sri Lanka.
The Criminal Investigation Department and intelligence agencies have launched a special investigation to identify those responsible for sending the false alerts, police said. ■