European held after 'alert' on Gulf Air flight

Bahrain security forces arrested a British man on suspicion of carrying explosives aboard a plane, but a search of the aircraft failed to find any, the interior ministry said on Tuesday.

"Security forces stopped a British man of Asian descent on suspicion that he was carrying explosives on a plane coming to Bahrain in transit and headed to Britain," the interior ministry said on Twitter.

"After ensuring the safety of all the passengers and inspecting them and the airplane, no explosives were found aboard the plane and investigations of the suspect are continuing," the ministry said.

The flight is thought to be a Gulf Air plane after the national carrier confirmed an incident had occurred onboard a flight en route to Bahrain from Abu Dhabi.

In a statement on its Twitter account, the airline said a security alert had been issued for flight GF547 en route to Bahrain.
 
“[The flight] was taken to an isolated part of the airport upon landing at Bahrain Airport following a security alert,” the airline said. “Situation resolved and all passengers safe.”

The flight had 39 passengers onboard, Gulf Air said.

Pan-Arab news channel Al Arabiya said the flight originated in the United Arab Emirates. Al Arabiya said the man was taken off the plane in Bahrain's capital Manama in a hysterical or drunken state.

Witnesses said security forces had been deployed heavily around Bahrain International Airport.

But a government official said the airport had returned to normal operations.

“The situation is under control," he said.

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