Crude bomb on passenger aircraft shocks Indian authorities

From Arab News:

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a serious security lapse, an explosive, suspected to be a crude bomb, was found on board a private airline's flight arrived at the international airport here Sunday.

The crude bomb in a size of a cricket ball wrapped in a Malayalam newspaper and Board exam question papers was recovered from the rear of cargo hold of the aircraft arrived from Bangalore in the neighboring Karnataka state at 8 a.m.

The flight was about to take off from here on the return flight and all the 31 passengers who de-boarded the Kingfisher aircraft had a narrow escape. A security alarm was triggered nationally following the incident and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the regulatory authority for civil aviation security in India, has launched a probe.

"It's a serious and shocking lapse of security that could not have taken place. We are viewing it very seriously and a high-level inquiry by the state police has already begun," said M Vijaya Kumar, state's minister in charge of airports who rushed to the airport.

Airports across India have been on high alert since January after reports that Al-Qaeda-linked militants planned to hijack a plane.

Police are still clueless about whether the explosives, containing 100 gm gunpowder and other substances were planted before the takeoff from Bangalore or after arriving at the airport here. The possibility of the packet being thrown in through small openings either side of the cargo compartment cannot be ruled out, they said.

"The crude bomb was inside a ball-shaped package found in the cargo compartment of Kingfisher flight IT 4731 which arrived from Bangalore. Airlines staff spotted the explosive during a routine security checkup and cleaning," City Police Commissioner MR Ajit Kumar, who is heading the probe team, said.

He said the aircraft was immediately moved to the isolation bay and the bomb disposal squad was called in to defuse the crude bomb by putting it in water. Investigators suspect it could be an attempt by terrorists to test the security level at the airport.

A statement from Kingfisher Airlines said the unclaimed package was found during a routine security check and the matter was immediately reported to the authorities who removed the package from the aircraft.

The airport authorities have handed over the "bomb" to the local police who have registered an FIR and questioned a few suspects. Police have also called in forensic experts to ascertain the nature of the explosives.

"It was explosive material which is commonly used in firecrackers, but can also be used to make a crude bomb. We expect that by Monday, we will know what kind of explosive it is," the police commissioner said. "We are investigating how this happened. Certainly this is a security lapse. The explosive is now with experts."

Security at Indian airports and on airliners has been high since a December 1999 hijack of state-run Indian Airlines plane by militants who forced the pilot to fly the plane to Taleban-controlled Kandahar in southern Afghanistan and freed the 167 passengers and crew only after releasing four militants.

The Kingfisher flight returned to Bangalore in the afternoon after a thorough security check. Airport authorities said all flights from the Kerala capital, including those bound for the Gulf destinations, are operating on schedule.