Air Mauritius ‘bomb’ threat is a fizzer
The foreign lettering on a soft drink can – thought to include the word “bomb” – was responsible for an Air Mauritius plane with nearly 200 people on board returning to Melbourne airport yesterday.
Police have now revealed that the lettering had been misinterpreted by airline staff.
Cabin crew discovered the can of drink at the rear of the plane about an hour into the flight to Mauritius via Perth.
Police initially said the word “bomb’” was written on paper taped to the can.
However, a Victoria Police spokeswoman today said no offence had been detected “due to an initial misinterpretation of foreign lettering on the print of the can”.
She said the word was printed on the can itself and not handwritten, as originally reported by police.
No further explanation was offered, although police confirmed no explosives were found in the can or on the plane, and no threat was intended.
Police said the captain of the aircraft acted appropriately with the safety of those on board as a priority.
by TravelMole Asia
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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