MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bomb threat ruled out in KLM flight arriving in Quito

The flight back to Amsterdam was delayed due to the security measures

Ecuadorian police Sunday ruled out a bomb threat on a KLM flight arriving in Quito from Amsterdam, it was reported.

After evacuating the passengers and checking their luggage and the aircraft with trained dogs, the authority informed on its Twitter account that it “ruled out the presence of any explosive device”.

At around 14:41 local time, the police were alerted about a possible explosive on flight KL755 from Amsterdam, the Mariscal Sucre International Airport authorities said in a statement.

The terminal did not suspend operations while “specialized units” searched the aircraft.

The airport's Emergency Operations Committee issued a statement explaining that “the corresponding security procedure is being developed by the specialized bodies of the National Police.” It added that the air terminal's emergency services remain activated to deal with the situation.

Ecuador's National Police confirmed that it deployed specialized units “upon the alert of an explosive device inside an airplane” coming from the Netherlands that landed at Quito International Airport.

“The aircraft was escorted to a safe place and the evacuation of passengers is being carried out for the corresponding search,” said the National Police.

Interior Minister Juan Zapata also said on Twitter that 309 passengers and 12 crew members had been evacuated.

KLM said that due to the incident, the return flight to Amsterdam was to be delayed.

The South American country is going through a wave of bombings and violent crimes. The Guillermo Lasso administration has attributed these occurrences to drug trafficking gangs.