Bomb scare on Mumbai-Singapore flight, F-16s scrambled

Singapore Airlines' Mumbai-Singapore flight landed safely at the Changi Airport on Tuesday, with two F-16s of the Singapore Air Force escorting it, after a call warning that there was a bomb on board.

Soon after the flight, which had 263 passengers on board, landed in Singapore at around 8 am local time, security officials checked the aircraft thoroughly but nothing suspicious was found.

A Singapore Airlines spokesperson said that there was a bomb threat concerning SQ-423 operating from Mumbai to Singapore.

"We are assisting the authorities with their investigations and regret that we are unable to provide further details," the spokesperson added.

The Boeing 777-300ER plane had departed Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 11.36 p.m. on Monday.

Sources in Mumbai said that a woman passenger and a boy have been questioned by the police in connection with the incident. However airline officials have not yet commented.

The Singapore Air Force swung into action as the plane approached Singapore.

"Heard the roar of our fighters early this morning? That's because two of our F-16C/Ds were scrambled to intercept a Singapore Airlines flight from Mumbai to Singapore after receiving a bomb threat. Our fighters escorted the airliner till it landed safely at Changi Airport," the Republic of Singapore Air Force said in a post on its Facebook page.

--IANS

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