NAIROBI, Kenya—No explosives have been found yet on the suspicious device that caused an Air France flight from Mauritius to Paris to be diverted to Mombasa, Kenya, said a Kenyan police official.
The device, found in a lavatory on the plane, looked like a cardboard box with a stop watch taped to it, said the official who is part of the investigation and who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press. The box has been taken apart and no explosives have been found yet, he said. The digital watch is being analyzed, he said.
Six passengers are being questioned over the incident, he said.
A passenger reported the device to the cabin crew who informed the pilots leading to an emergency landing at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa. One of those being interrogated is the man who reported the package.
The Boeing 777 Air France flight 463 was heading to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris when the pilots requested an emergency landing at the Moi International Airport at 12:37 a.m., Kenyan police spokesman Charles Owino said.
“It requested an emergency landing when a device suspected to be an explosive was discovered in the lavatory,” Owino said.
The plane was carrying 459 passengers and 14 crew members on board and had left Mauritius at 9 p.m., Owino said.
All passengers were safely evacuated and the device was taken out, said Owino.
