'Bomb in bag' threat by passenger delays Malaysia-bound flight from Delhi International Airport

After a brawl between two passengers on board the aircraft at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, a flight with a destination of Malaysia was delayed on Friday due to a hoax bomb threat, according to officials. Around 1 pm, swift response teams received a bomb call from Malaysia Airlines flight MH173, which prompted them to properly check the aircraft, according to the officials. After a two-hour and forty-minute delay, the plane finally took off for Kuala Lumpur, and the four passengers who were reportedly involved in the incident were given over to the local police, according to the reports.

"A fight broke out between two passengers for keeping their bags in the overhead cabin of the aircraft. When one passenger asked the other what was in his bag, the other replied, 'bomb'. The flight was then grounded as the pilot was informed about it, and the pilot intimated the ATC (air traffic controller)," official sources told PTI.

"A bomb threat assessment committee immediately probed the matter, and the flight was put through checks after which the bomb call was declared a hoax," the sources said. A total of four passengers -- all Indians -- were handed over to the police, they added. According to sources, the passenger who made the bomb claim was identified as Varindar Sidhu.

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With inputs from PTI