GA-150 canceled after bomb threat

GA-150 canceled after bomb threat

BATAM, Riau: Garuda Indonesia flight GA-150, remained isolated
on a runway in Hang Nadim airport here on Friday following a bomb
threat which canceled the departure of the Jakarta bound flight.

Police here said they were taking the utmost precaution and
had decided to await the arrival of a bomb squad from Pekanbaru
in Riau province, about 280-kilometers west of here, as Batam did
not have its own bomb squad.

"Tomorrow (Saturday) the bomb squad from the Riau Police will
arrive. Tonight police are just isolating the plane," Barelang
Police chief Supt. Bachrul Effendi said.

He stressed that due to the limited facilities of local police
they could not determine whether if there was a bomb on the
airplane which was in Batam on a stopover from its point of
departure in Medan, North Sumatra.

Antara reported that the Garuda office in Batam received word
of a possible bomb on the airplane from a reservations officer in
Polonia airport in Medan.

The head of the Garuda Office in Batam said the bomb was said
to have been placed in a cargo hold of the airplane.

It is unclear who reported the bomb to officials in Medan.

Upon receiving word of a possible bomb on the plane, just
minutes before the scheduled departure time of 3:25 p.m., all 63
passengers and crew were immediately taken off the plane.