After the discovery, 5 individuals were apprehended by the Sahar police station, leading to the uncovering of a larger smuggling plot involving inflammable chemicals.
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A bag caught fire at Mumbai airport on Sunday before being loaded onto the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET-641. The fire was quickly put out by the responsible agencies however what came next was a huge shock for all. The probe revealed that the luggage that caught fire contained inflammable chemicals in it. Following the discovery, a probe was launched which led to the apprehension of 5 individuals by the Sahar police station and subsequent discovery of a larger plot of smuggling the inflammable chemical.
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Had the bag caught fire while the aircraft was airborne, the lives of 200 passengers aboard the flight would have been in grave danger. Mid-day dove deep into how the inflammable substance was smuggled inside the airport.
"It is suspected that the bag contained an inflammable substance called 'hydrogen spirit'. A sample of the seized chemical has been sent to a forensic lab to determine its exact nature. When the vag caught fire, a complaint was filed by the Ethiopian Airlines manager at Sahar police station and Narayanacharyc Biswas, who the bag belonged to, was deboarded and taken into custody," police sources told mid-day.
"During interrogation, Bishwas, a resident of West Bengal, claimed that he was travelling to Ethiopia and intended to continue to Congo, where he had recently secured a managerial position," the source added.
Bishwas told the cops that one Naveen Sharma from Congo had requested him to bring the bag to the city while travelling from Mumbai.
Another official said, "The bag was handed over by Bishwas by Nandan Yadav, a resident of Marol Naka in Andheri. On further probe, it was discovered that this badge was given to Yadav by Suresh Singh who operates A S Logistics near the airport. When we interrogated Singh, it was found out that the bag was given to him by Vishwanath Senjunadhar, residing in Ambernath on instructions of Naveen Sharma."
"The investigation is ongoing, with efforts underway to apprehend Naveen Sharma, who remains at large. We are also probing the network behind this dangerous scheme to ensure aviation safety is not compromised in the future," said Madhukar Sonawane, senior PI of Sahar Police Station.
When asked about how the inflammable substance went unnoticed at the airport security check, the senior PI added, "We are currently investigating this part of the incident and are positive that someone from inside may also be involved in it. Though these are just speculations, for now, we are investigating all possible angles to this incident."
Ethiopian Airlines in its statement said, "On August 16 morning, at Mumbai Airport in India, a baggage container carrying baggage checked in for ET641 in the ramp area was observed with fire. The incident occurred at the ramp while the container was being transported from the baggage make-up area to the aircraft. The Airport Safety, Security, and Fire teams responded immediately, extinguishing the fire, and ensuring all necessary safety procedures were followed. The affected container and baggage are under investigation by the authorities at Mumbai airport. The aircraft was dispatched following the standard safety procedures as nothing had happened on the aircraft side. We will provide updates as more information becomes available."
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