Calls made at the air traffic control (ATC) tower’s landline
File picture of Kochi airport. (photo: DC/File)
Kochi: Security personnel at the Cochin International Airport (CIAL) at Nedumbassery in Kochi went into a tizzy on Friday evening after four bomb threat calls were received by the air traffic control tower there. According to sources, the calls were made from Saudi Arabia in quick successions at around 5 pm. The caller spoke in three different languages – Malayalam, English and Hindi – and threatened that a bomb would be exploded at the airport on Friday evening.
“The caller said the bomb was placed at the airport and it would explode soon. We tried to trace the number. But now we can confirm only that it was made from Saudi Arabia,” a source said.
Following the call, the airport authorities initiated the security protocol and issued an ‘orange alert’. Later the security officials declared ‘red alert’ after considering the number of calls. Various security agencies were also alerted shortly.
The officers of the Central Industrial Security Force formed a security cover inside the airport. Several police teams also arrived at the airport immediately and formed a security layer outside the airport. The airport services were resumed after the officials failed to detect anything from the area. However the passengers and the cargo were scanned thoroughly to ensure security. The airport spokesperson confirmed that no flights were delayed albeit the emergency security measures.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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