2008 Woodie Awards
Olympic officials voice concerns over security
Chinese government claims to have foiled plot by Islamic terrorists over weekend
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: World
BEIJING - China disclosed yesterday that suspicious liquids were found on a flight headed to Beijing from a far western Muslim region, and Olympic organizers tried to dismiss fears that the summer games were under threat.
The government announced over the weekend that authorities had foiled a plot by Islamic terrorists targeting the August games and also said there was an apparently unrelated attempt to crash a passenger jet on Friday.
Scant details were initially released about the reported plot or the airplane incident.
However, China's head of civil aviation said yesterday that the flight from the far western Xinjiang region to Beijing had been diverted after some passengers were found with suspicious liquids.
China Southern Airlines CZ6901 landed in Lanzhou, in western Gansu province, to safeguard the passengers, the authority said in a notice on its Web site. No other details were given.
The head of Xinjiang's regional government earlier described the incident as an attempt to crash the plane.
Olympic organizers voiced confidence yesterday about security arrangements for the games in Beijing.
"An efficient Olympic security command system is in place," Sun Weide, a spokesman for the organizing committee, told The Associated Press. "We're confident of holding a peaceful and safe Olympic Games."
The government announced over the weekend that authorities had foiled a plot by Islamic terrorists targeting the August games and also said there was an apparently unrelated attempt to crash a passenger jet on Friday.
Scant details were initially released about the reported plot or the airplane incident.
However, China's head of civil aviation said yesterday that the flight from the far western Xinjiang region to Beijing had been diverted after some passengers were found with suspicious liquids.
China Southern Airlines CZ6901 landed in Lanzhou, in western Gansu province, to safeguard the passengers, the authority said in a notice on its Web site. No other details were given.
The head of Xinjiang's regional government earlier described the incident as an attempt to crash the plane.
Olympic organizers voiced confidence yesterday about security arrangements for the games in Beijing.
"An efficient Olympic security command system is in place," Sun Weide, a spokesman for the organizing committee, told The Associated Press. "We're confident of holding a peaceful and safe Olympic Games."
Be the first to comment on this story