Official: Delta flight lands in Mumbai with suspicious cargo

MUMBAI, India -- A Delta flight that landed at Mumbai on Thursday night was searched after suspicious cargo was reported on board. All the passengers got off safely but the airport was on high alert.

"The security agencies are checking the cargo," said airport spokesman Manish Kalghatgi.

The plane from Amsterdam landed at Mumbai's international airport around 11 p.m. flanked by fire trucks and other emergency vehicles and was immediately taken to an isolated bay, where it was being inspected by bomb squads and airport security, Kalghatgi said.

All 244 passengers on board Delta flight 70 were evacuated safely, he said.

"Delta staff in Amsterdam informed the pilot there may be unaccounted-for cargo on board," he said.

Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport remains on high alert, but other flights are operating normally, he said.

Delta Air Lines Inc. posted a statement on Twitter that read: "We requested rescreening of some cargo on flt 70 in Mumbai. Paxs deplaned safely & we are working with authorities."

In Amsterdam, spokespeople for Schiphol airport and KLM, which has a code-sharing agreement with Delta, declined comment.

Passengers were asked to remain at the airport until all luggage and cargo searches are complete, said Rohit Sharma, who was outside the airport waiting for his aunt who was on the flight.

The incident comes two days before President Barack Obama is scheduled to land in Mumbai, his first stop on a 10-day Asia trip.

Last week, two package bombs sent via air freight from Yemen to the United States were found in Britain and the United Arab Emirates. One was defused just 17 minutes before it was set to detonate, according to the French interior minister.