Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An Air France passenger jet heading from Rio de Janeiro to Paris made an emergency landing in north-eastern Brazil, following a bomb threat.
All 405 passengers and 18 crew members were safely evacuated from Flight 443, said Jorge Andrade, a spokesman for airport authority Infraero.
A spokesman for Air France in Brazil said the bomb threat was phoned in to Rio's international airport by a female voice about 30 minutes after the plane took off.
The control tower contacted the jet and the decision was made to land in Recife, the Air France spokesman said.
The spokesman said authorities had not found any explosives after a five-hour search, and the jet was expected to be cleared to continue to Paris.
Solange Argenta, an Infraero spokeswoman at Recife airport, said the flight took off at 4.20pm local time yesterday and landed in Recife at 7.53pm.
The jet taxied to a secluded area of the airport and those on board were quickly removed. The airport was closed for about 30 minutes.
Flight 443 was on the same route as an Air France jet that crashed last June off Brazil's north-eastern coast, killing all 228 on board. While no definite cause has been determined in the crash, authorities have repeatedly ruled out foul play.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments