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Turkish Airlines flight makes emergency landing after note with the word 'bomb' found in toilet

The flight was forced to land in Morocco

Kashmira Gander
Monday 30 March 2015 15:05 BST
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A Turkish Airlines aircraft made an emergency landing today following a bomb scare.
A Turkish Airlines aircraft made an emergency landing today following a bomb scare. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

A Turkish Airlines flight bound for Brazil was forced to make an emergency landing today, after a note including the word "bomb" was found in the toilet.

Around 250 passengers and 6 crew members were on board flight TK15, which took off from Istanbul en route to Sao Paulo.

After the note was found, staff followed standard safety procedures and declared an emergency, before changing the flight's course to Casablanca, Morocco, a spokeswoman from the airline said.

The Boeing 777 landed in Casablanca at around 12:30pm (GMT).

The jet will resume its journey once it is deemed safe, the spokeswoman said.

Moroccan aviation authorities said Casablanca airport was operating normally after the landing.

Officials for Brazil's aviation authority and the private airport operator in Sao Paulo had no additional information.

The incident is the second bomb scare on a Turkish Airlines flight in as many days.

On Sunday, an aircraft flying from the Turkish capital to Tokyo turned back shortly after take-off when a note reading “C4 Cargo” was found on the lavatory door, Turkish media said.

No explosives were found on the aircraft following a search.

Additional reporting by AP and Reuters

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