source: manila bulletin
MANILA, Philippines - Filipino actress Rufa Mae Quinto and Journey singer Arnel Pineda had the scare of their lives when the airplane they were on had to be secured for some five hours on Tuesday because of a bomb threat.
According to reports, the threat was made known after workers of the Philippine flagship carrier informed authorities of a phone call about a supposed bomb inside the plane.
"Philippine Airlines cargo here at SFO contacted SFPD and notified them that they received a telephone call with an unsubstantiated threat being made," abscbnews.com quoted Michael Rodriguez of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) as saying.
Although Flight PR 104 of Philippine Airlines (PAL) landed safely at its destination, San Francisco City USA, it was subsequently held in a remote part of the airport.
In an interview, also quoted on abscbnnews.com, Quinto revealed that she and the other passengers were not informed of the scare.
"Paghinto namin, doon lang daw kami. Bawal kumilos. Hanggang parang may ilalabas daw na may sakit... nakita naman namin may mga ambulansya naman," she said.
"Hindi ko naisip na ganito katindi. Ngayon natatakot na ako kaya gusto ko nang umalis," she added.
Quinto was among the first to get out of the airport at past midnight.
Pineda meanwhile, could only heave a sigh of relief.
"We're Okay. I'm just tired," he said in the same report.
The 337 passengers and 20 crew aboard were eventually made to disembark while US police deployed a bomb squad and K-9's to check the plane.
“We were made to embark very far. Our plane didn’t really reach the proper terminal," divulged Pineda.
PAL has issued an apology over the incident.
"PAL apologizes for the delay and inconvenience. But the safety and security of our passengers are paramount, hence we gave our full cooperation to the investigators," the airline said in a statement reported by ABS-CBN News' North American Bureau.
source: manila bulletin
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