TEMPO.CO, Maros – Air Commodore Tamsil Gustari Malik said that the Batik Air BTK 6171 aircraft flying from Ambon to Jakarta, which landed at the Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport has been secured. He declared the plane safe from bomb threats and that all passengers have been evacuated.
"We have been making evacuation efforts for two hours with the South Sulawesi Police's bomb squad," Tamsil spoke in a press conference at the airport's Fire Station Office in Maros, South Sulawesi Selatan on Friday, April 17 April.
Tamsil confirmed that there was a text message saying that there is a bomb on board the plane. "A bomb is ready to go off on board Batik Air on April 17 morning, the Ambon- Jakarta flight," the text said.
The man who first received the text was MATSC operation coordinator Abidin Haju who was stationed at the Pattimura Airport in Ambon.
It was then said that there is a bomb in a passenger's luggage. But when the police checked the plane, the suitcase only had batteries in it.
Maros Police chief Adj. Commissioner Hotman Sirait said the police are staying in touch with Sultan Hasanuddin Airport's authority to investigate the case further and make sure that the airport is safe.
Batik Air BTK 6171 had 122 passengers on board including six cabin crew. The police are now tracking down the origins of the text.
BADAUNI A.P.