Malaysia Airlines plane returns after bomb scare
Indian Navy continues relief work, rescues 33 Bangladeshi fishermen
The Indian Navy continued providing relief assistance to Cyclone Mora-hit areas of Bangladesh and rescued 33 Bangladeshi fishermen who were afloat in the sea for over 36 hours on Thursday, an official said.
The 33 fishermen were washed into the sea by the cyclone, and had been adrift when they were spotted floating in water by Indian Naval Ship Sumitra.
"These fisherman were fortunately spotted by alert crew of INS Sumitra, 96 nautical miles south west of Chittagong," Indian Navy Spokesperson Captain D.K. Sharma said. The ship's crew jumped into action and rescued them, and they were brought ashore on Thursday.
"They were rescued by the Marine commandos on board the ship in a daring operation. The commandos jumped into the sea to rescue the fishermen as the boats could not be lowered on account of the rough sea," the spokesperson said.
The Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh on Thursday handed over relief material to the 33 rescued Bangladeshi nationals.
Another Indian Navy ship, INS Gharial is also reaching Bangladesh with relief material.
India also sent three ships - INS Kirch, INS Shardul and INS Jalshwa - for relief and rescue operations in Sri Lanka, which was also hit by Cyclone Mora. India also sent smaller boats, teams of divers, doctors and medical assistants, medicines, drinking water and other relief material to Sri Lanka. A Malaysia Airlines plane, with 337 people on-board, was forced to return to the airport here when a mentally-ill Sri Lankan passenger threatened to detonate a bomb after allegedly trying to force his way into the cockpit, officials said on Thursday.
The 25-year-old man was subdued by the crew and passengers who tied him up with belts.
The Kuala Lumpur-bound flight MH 128, left Melbourne at 11:11pm, was forced to return and make an emergency landing 30 minutes after it took off from Tullamarine Airport late last night.
The man was arrested by airport security after the plane landed and is now in police custody.
"We believe that the actions of the passengers and crew were heroic," Victoria Police Superintendent Tony Langdon was qouted as saying.
"They managed to calm the situation, allow the aircraft to return safely and we can't commend them highly enough," Langdon said.
Photographs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation website showed black-clad armed officers on board the plane.
He said the incident was not terror-related and the man was known to the police due to his history of mental- illness.
Langdon said the man was carrying an electronic device that police quickly realised was not a bomb. "He had a piece of equipment which, for all intents and purposes is something that everybody would be carrying around on a daily basis."