Moscow-Goa Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Jamnagar Due to Bomb Scare

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth

Last Updated: January 10, 2023

An Azur Moscow-Goa flight carrying 244 people was diverted to Jamnagar, Gujarat following a bomb threat on Monday. After the emergency landing, the flight was searched extensively by the NSG (National Security Guard). They also looked through the luggage but nothing suspicious or harmful was found. All the passengers received assistance and were taken care of. The flight is set to depart from Jamnagar to Goa safely after all the preventive checks.

The Jamnagar Airport Director had said that the NSG checked the cabin baggage thoroughly and the flight is expected to depart between 10.30 am and 11 am to Goa. The flight was earlier supposed to land directly at Dabolim airport, Goa at 9:49 pm, Monday. However, a threat email was sent to the airlines, which was then shared with the Russian authorities. The details reached the airlines once the flight was over Turkmenistan.

It was then that the alert was directed to the Goa airport and the plane had to make an emergency landing in Jamnagar where the air force base was prepared to deal with the situation. Ashok Kumar Yadav, the Inspector General of Police (Rajkot and Jamnagar Range) revealed that 8 crew members and 239 passengers were safely evacuated from the plane. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad then checked the plane for threats.

The Russian Embassy in a statement said that the Indian authorities had alerted them about the bomb scare on the Azur Air Flight from Moscow to Goa. Everyone on board is now safe and local authorities took measures to ensure their security. In the wake, security was forced to shut off the Jamnagar airport for 9 hours and carry out the necessary inspections. Investigations are ongoing as to the origin of the bomb scare email and the responsible entity behind the alleged activity.