'Bomb on mind' clears plane

2006-05-21 17:49

New Delhi - "I have bomb on my mind," an Italian woman with a splitting headache told her Indian co-passenger. The result: evacuation of a plane about to take off from New Delhi.

It happened on an Indian Airlines aircraft bound for the western city of Ahmedabad late on Saturday, PTI news agency reported on Sunday.

The flight had several high-profile passengers, and security officials at the airport did not want to take any chances, police were quoted as saying.

The 30-year-old Italian lady was under medication and her crouching posture and a language miscommunication raised suspicions, the police said.

She was interrogated by intelligence bureau and Delhi police officials and found to be innocent, said police.

"The woman was under immense tension because of her medical condition and muttered the words to her curious co-passenger, who suspected something and alerted the cabin crew," said a police official.

The flight took off three hours behind schedule after a thorough luggage search and passenger check.

Passengers included Gujarat state governor Nawal Kishore Sharma, federal textiles minister Shankarsinh Vaghela and India's Atomic Energy Commission chairperson Anil Kakodkar. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA