Aeroflot plane diverts to Iceland after bomb threat

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — An Aeroflot plane carrying 256 people from New York to Moscow made an unscheduled landing in Iceland on Thursday following a report of a bomb on board, authorities said.

The plane, an Airbus A330, landed at Iceland‘sKeflavik International Airport, where baggage and passengers were being inspected as part of the search for explosives.

Russia’s ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Aeroflot spokeswoman Irina Dannenberg as saying the bomb warning came from an anonymous caller to New York City police after the plane took off.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told the Associated Press an anonymous call was placed to authorities in New York about 90 minutes into the flight. It was not clear whether the call came from the plane or from elsewhere. The official did not know the language of the threat but said it referred to explosives on the plane.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigation. A New York Police Department spokesman said his agency was not aware of receiving the call.

Iris Marelsdottir of Iceland‘s Civil Protection Agency said all the passengers were safe and being taken care of by the Red Cross at the airport, not in Reykjavik, as she had said earlier.

“The search for explosives is under way in accordance with aviation security procedures and plans,” Ms. Marelsdottir said. “They haven’t found any explosives, and I don’t know long the search will go on.”

Colleen Long contributed to this report from New York.

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