Mumbai: Flight Luggage Catches Fire On Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 641; 5 Arrested For Air Safety Breach | Representational Image
Mumbai: The bag of a passenger on a Mumbai-Addis Ababa Ethiopian Airlines flight (ET 641) caught fire on Friday, following which five persons were arrested for compromising air safety by allegedly carrying flammable, chemical substances.
The flight crew was the first to see smoke emanating from a checked-in bag and immediately brought the situation under control. The flyer carrying the substance, Sameer Biswas, 31, from West Bengal, was swiftly deboarded.
There were over 200 other passengers on board. The type of substance and the motive behind carrying it have not yet been revealed, though sources suspect the substance to be hydrogen spirit. Biswas completed training from Industrial Training Institute and was on way to Congo for a job.
The arrested persons are Biswas; Vishwanath Senjurdhar, 37, from Ambernath; Nandan Yadav, 26, from Andheri East; Akhilesh Yadav, 28, from Andheri East; and Suresh Singh, 46, from Dindoshi.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone VIII Dixit Gedam said, “Sparks and smoke emanated from a bag checked-in by Biswas before it could be loaded on to the flight. There were some boxes in the bag which contained chemicals. To determine the nature of the substance, they have been sent to the forensic lab.”
Gedam said the parcel was delivered to Biswas through various channels. He informed that Nandan Yadav handed over the parcel to Biswas near the airport after receiving it from Singh, who operates AS Logistics near Sahar Cargo. “He received the parcel from Sejundhar, and Akhilesh Yadav accompanied Nandan Yadav to the airport. Biswas was to deliver the parcel to Sharma, the sixth accused, who is currently in Congo.”
Gedam added, “This is a very serious matter, as a chemical made its way on to a flight in this manner. We are investigating where the lapses in security occurred and what should have been done to prevent this. We are also investigating the identity and use of the chemical that caused the fire.”
The police have registered a case against the five arrested persons under sections 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 327 (mischief with intent to destroy or make unsafe a rail, aircraft, decked vessel), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Civil Aviation Act.
All the arrested accused were produced in court on Saturday, where they were remanded to five days of police custody. The sixth accused, Naveen Sharma, has not been arrested as he is currently in Congo.