Plane Bomb Threat: Manchester-Bound Flight Forced to Make Emergency Landing in Turkey

A Pakistan International Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing on Wednesday after receiving a bomb threat.

The plane was headed to Manchester, England when it received the bomb threat while flying over Bulgaria’s capital city of Sofia. The Boeing 777 made its emergency landing in Istanbul, Turkey.

"The plane was en route to Manchester Airport when officials in Islamabad received the terror warning," a Pakistani International Airlines chief told the UKPA.

The 378 passengers on the plane were quickly evacuated by authorities after landing in a far off corner of the International Ataturk Airport. Bomb squads and sniffer dogs searched the plane, however, no bombs were found.

Footage of the search was seen on television, detailing the Pakistani flag painted on the plane’s tail while ground workers finished evacuating passengers, as well as fire trucks and ambulances on standby, according to Turkish news agency, Anatolia.

The plane had previously taken off from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.

According to Sky News, Pakistan International Airlines is reporting that the plane landed due to a technical problem.