This is a worrying development on an already unsettling day.
On the day that Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium was evacuated due to a bomb alert, that turned out to be a very realistic hoax, a Ryanair plane bound for Manchester have been evacuated to due to a potential terror threat.
According to Norwegian news agency Dagbladet – who quote directly from police officials – a plane scheduled to land in Manchester at 18.55 on Sunday evening was evacuated at Rygge airport.
Airport spokesman Anders Strømsæther explained that there was a quarrel between two foreign nationals near the toilet area and the word ‘bomb’ was mentioned.
Norwegian police have confirmed that two individuals are under their custody, and that the aircraft and baggage are being checked. A bomb squad from Norway’s capital city of Oslo is on its way to Rygge to continue the investigation.
Christian Krohn Engeseth, Operations Manager at Oslo Police, told Dagbladet that the Eastern Police Distinct requested their urgent assistance.
According to the report, Endre Haukland (33) was amongst the passengers on the flight to Manchester. He says that passengers remained calm and waited on the plane for half an hour. They were told of technical problems, until a mass of police arrived the situation became clearer.
We will provide any further details once we have them.
