Bomb threat stalls Air Philippines flight to Manila from Davao

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MANILA, Philippines — The pilot of an Air Philippines plane bound for Manila was forced to turn back to Davao after being informed of a bomb in the aircraft Wednesday night, a police spokesman said Thursday.

Citing reports from authorities from Region 11 (Davao), Philippine National Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said that at past 11 p.m., Air Philippines flight 2P 988 Airbus A320 was about to take off a runway from the Davao International Airport when its pilot, only identified as a Captain Garcia, heard an unidentified male voice say, “Urgent, there is a bomb on board,” through the plane’s radio.

Garcia turned the aircraft around and had his passengers disembark, Cruz said.

Initial investigation showed that air traffic controller Melvin Sajenes also heard the message, said the spokesman.

Policemen from the PNP-Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVESGROUP), K9 Unit, and the Special Operations Unit immediately responded and inspected the aircraft and its cargo but was declared safe as no explosive or its form and incendiary device were found, said Cruz.

Cruz said the plane, with 176 passengers on board, was able to depart for Manila at around 2:08 a.m. Thursday.

He added that investigation on the incident was ongoing.