MOMBASA - Kenya is investigating a suspect device found in a toilet on an Air France flight from Mauritius to Paris with 459 passengers and 14 crew onboard that made an emergency landing in the port city of Mombasa, the Interior Minister said on Sunday.
Joseph Nkaissery told reporters at Mombasa's Moi International Airport that Kenyan authorities were working with French and Mauritian counterparts to determine the nature of the device. He said an undisclosed number of passengers were being questioned.
"We are in touch with Mauritius to know how security screening of passengers was done. A few passengers are being interrogated," he said.
The Interior Ministry said on its Twitter feed the device was still being analysed.
Police Inspector General Joseph Boinnet said on Twitter the Boeing 777 aircraft was safely evacuated after it landed at the airport at 12.37 a.m. on Sunday (2137 GMT Saturday).
"Bomb experts from the Navy and DCI (Directorate of Criminal Investigations) have retrieved the device and are determining whether the components contained explosives," Boinnet said.
Air France said in a statement that as a precaution, all passengers were evacuated from the aircraft by its emergency slides.
"They are (being) taken care of by Mombasa's airport ground staff and will be accommodated. An investigation is being led by the authorities to identify the source of the threat," it said.
Air France said it would hold a news conference in Paris at 1430 GMT. The airline declined further comment on the investigation.
The airline said it was sending another plane to Mombasa to fly passengers to Paris. "This Mombasa-Paris flight is scheduled to leave in the late afternoon," it said.
Kenya's Civil Aviation Authority said flights from Mombasa airport were disrupted due to the emergency landing.(FA)