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China Airline Plane Stranded in Hong Kong amid Anthrax Scare: Report
A China Airlines Boeing 747 was stranded at Hong Kong international airport Tuesday after suspicious white powder was found on board, a spokeswoman for the civil aviation department said in Hong Kong.
"Police and firemen were called in after the crew of China Airlines flight CI606 informed airport authorities of white powder found on the upper deck of the aircraft," the spokeswoman said.
"We do not know what the white powder is, pending police investigation," she said, adding "no passengers have boarded the plane yet."
A police spokesman later confirmed that the white powder was "not suspicious", but did not elaborate.
However, a spokesman for the Taiwan-based China Airlines said in Taipei that the powder found on the flight was dairy creamer.
The passengers were later allowed to board the plane.
Earlier, passengers on the Hong Kong-Taipei flight had been told they would be transferred to another plane after security officers were called in, a photographer at the scene said.
In the past week, a series of anthrax scares has hit Hong Kong amid worldwide fears of a bioterror reprisal for the US-led attacks on Afghanistan. All of the scares in Hong Kong have turned out to be hoaxes.
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