Manchester-Bound Plane Lands In Turkey After Receiving Bomb Threat

A bomb threat has forced a British-bound plane from Pakistan to make an emergency landing in Istanbul, according to reports.












A) Islamabad, Pakistan, where the plane took off, B) Turkey's International Ataturk Airport where the plane landed.

Authorities quickly evacuated all 378 passengers from the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft after it was parked at a remote corner of Turkey's International Ataturk Airport, and bomb squads began searching the plane with sniffer dogs, Anatolia reported.

The plane, which took off from Islamabad, Pakistan, received the threat somewhere near the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, and contacted the control tower in Istanbul to seek permission for the landing.

Television footage showed the PIA plane with the Pakistani flag painted on its tail on the tarmac in Istanbul with about a dozen ground workers nearby apparently after the plane was evacuated. Firefighter trucks and ambulances were on standby at a safe distance.

The plane took off from the Pakistan capital Islamabad and was reportedly heading to Manchester.