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Pakistan Jet Evacuated in Sweden after Bomb Threat | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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STOCKHOLM, (AP) – Swedish police on Saturday detained a man who had been aboard a plane from Canada to Pakistan that made an emergency landing in Stockholm after Canadian authorities received a tip that a passenger was carrying explosives.

The man, described as a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, was detained as he was evacuated from the Pakistan International Airlines jet along with other passengers at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, police spokesman Kjell Lindgren said. The plane was carrying 273 people.

It was not immediately clear if the man was carrying any explosives, but a bomb squad that searched the Boeing 777 found nothing suspicious on board, Lindgren said. He said the man was taken to a police station for questioning.

The plane was bound from Toronto to Karachi when the pilot asked to land in Stockholm because Canadian authorities “received a tip that a person on this plane was carrying explosives,” Stockholm police spokeswoman Sussie Illum said.

Police officials said the man was not on any international no-fly lists and had cleared a security check in Canada.

In Pakistan, a spokesman for state-run Pakistan International Airlines confirmed the incident involved flight PK782 to Karachi.

“The plane has landed at the Stockholm airport due to security reasons,” airline spokesman Sultan Hassan said.

Calls to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canada’s public safety department were not immediately returned.