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'Hijacked' plane lands in Turkey

February 7, 2014

A passenger claiming he had a bomb has reportedly attempted to divert a plane to Sochi. The plane landed safely in Istanbul after leaving Ukraine, with Turkey's transport ministry confirming a bomb threat had been made.

https://p.dw.com/p/1B5Gg
Versuchte Flugzeugentführung nach Sotschi scheitert
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Transport Ministry undersecretary Habib Soluk told NTV television on Friday the man allegedly attempted to divert the plane towards Sochi, which is hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics.

"A Pegasus Airlines plane flying from Kharkiv to Sabiha Gokcen [airport] landed at Sabiha Gokcen safely after receiving a bomb threat while in the air," the Turkish civil aviation authority said in a statement.

The man has reportedly been subdued.

Pegasus Airlines also confirmed via statement there had been a "bomb threat" aboard the 110-passenger flight.

The plane left Kharkiv in Ukraine, with news agency Reuters reporting an F-16 fighter jet was scrambled to accompany it to Istanbul.

More to follow.

ph/dr (AP, Reuters)