Bomb threat forces Hong Kong jet to make emergency landing

Bomb threat forces Hong Kong jet to make emergency landing

A bomb threat to a Hong Kong-bound flight with nearly 300 people on board forced the jet to make an emergency landing in China on Tuesday, Hong Kong Airlines said.

"Hong Kong Airlines was notified of a suspected bomb threat onboard its flight HX337 from Beijing to Hong Kong, after the plane had taken off," a spokeswoman from the airline said.

The captain of the Airbus A330-200 decided to divert "in order to ensure the safety and security of the passengers and crew" and landed the plane at around 2:30 pm local time (0630 GMT) in Tianhe International Airport in the central city of Wuhan, she said.

The precise nature of the threat was not immediately known. "All 295 passengers and crew members of the flight have since safely disembarked," she said, adding that the aircraft was undergoing security checks.

A spokesman for Wuhan airport's police told AFP that the airport was investigating the incident, without providing any further information.

Hong Kong international airport said on its website that the flight, which was originally scheduled to land in the afternoon, would arrive at 14:30 GMT.

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