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Malaysia Airlines Plane Evacuated Over Bomb Hoax
A bomb threat which turned out to be a hoax forced hundreds of passengers on a Malaysia Airlines flight to London to be evacuated before their plane was scheduled to take off, airline officials and reports said Wednesday.
The plane, which was carrying 289 passengers, was delayed for four hours on Tuesday at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after a 25-year-old Vietnamese student claimed he had a bomb in his hand luggage, the New Straits Times daily said.
"The student was taken into police custody while Malaysia Airlines staff safely evacuated the passengers back into the airport," a police spokesman was quoted as saying.
Airport authorities immediately evacuated the passengers and searched all their luggage before detaining the student for questioning, police were quoted as saying.
A Malaysia Airlines official said the passengers were taken off to ensure their safety.Police declined to say if the student would be prosecuted.
Kuala Lumpur 14/10/04
