Turkish Airlines Flight From New York To Istanbul Diverted Mid-Air Over Possible Bomb Threat

UPDATE: 4:45 a.m. EST -- Canadian police at the Halifax airport said on Twitter that no explosive was found on the Turkish Airlines flight. It said it has completed the search of the plane and luggage, and the flight is scheduled to continue to Istanbul later on Sunday. Police said the investigation into the threat was ongoing.

However, seven passengers have refused to get back on the plane following the bomb threat, CBC News reporter Brett Ruskin tweeted.

UPDATE: 2:56 a.m. EST -- Speaking on behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Cst. Tammy Lobb said the threat came in around 10:50 p.m. Saturday, according to a tweet by CBC News reporter Brett Ruskin. The plane had landed at the Halifax airport at 12:53 a.m. on Sunday, he added.

Original story:

A Turkish Airlines jet from New York to Istanbul was diverted mid-air and was landed in Halifax, Canada, after it reportedly received a bomb threat Sunday. The flight identified as Turkish Airlines TYH2/TK2 was received by Canadian security forces and fire-fighting squads on the ground.

The source of the alleged bomb threat is still not known, but unconfirmed reports state that a jihadi made a threatening tweet from a temporary Twitter handle, according to the New Yorker Daily. This is the second Turkish Airlines flight to be diverted because of a bomb scare this year.

The flight, identified to be a A330-300 twin jet engine aircraft, left from the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York at 9 p.m. EST on Saturday and reached its targeted altitude of 35,000 feat enroute to Istanbul, before it reversed its path and was seen heading back to the JFK airport.

The Halifax airport authorities tweeted that all 256 passengers and crew on board are safe and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were searching the plane and luggage.

Brett Ruskin, a reporter for Canadian news channel CBC News, tweeted pictures of the flight at a runway at the Halifax airport.