Skip to main content
U.S. Edition
Search
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
WORLD

12 freed after U.S. jet incident

story.northwest.amsterdam.a.jpg
The Northwest Airlines DC-10 sits on the ramp at Schiphol Airport.

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS

Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Northwest Airlines

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (CNN) -- Dutch authorities will release 12 men arrested on suspicion of terrorism after causing a disturbance on a Northwest Airlines flight Wednesday, the Dutch prosecutor's office said.

They were "suspected of trying to commit an act of violence on a plane which act could endanger the safety of that plane and the people on board," a statement from the prosecutor's office said.

Dutch fighter jets escorted the plane back to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Wednesday after the pilot reported a disturbance on Flight 42, which had taken off from Amsterdam minutes before for a flight to Mumbai, India.

"They had a large number of cell phones and other equipment in their possession," the prosecutor's statement said.

A U.S. government official said that some of the 149 passengers aboard the DC-10 had pulled out cell phones and appeared to be trying to pass the phones to other passengers.

The Dutch prosecutor's office said a thorough investigation concluded that the phones had not been tampered with, and there were no explosives on the aircraft.

"From the statements of the suspects and witnesses, no evidence could be brought forward that these men were about to commit an act of violence," the prosecutor's office statement said. "Therefore the decision has been made to release the men tonight."

The statement said all 12 are men "of Indian origin."

Security has been heightened at airports worldwide after revelation of an alleged plot to use liquid explosives to blow up passenger planes over the Atlantic.

The alleged plot, which was uncovered by British authorities on August 10, involved flights from Britain to the United States.

-- Journalist Marijn Tebbens and CNN's Jeanne Meserve contributed to this report

Story Tools
Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! cover
Top Stories
Get up-to-the minute news from CNN
CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.
Top Stories
Get up-to-the minute news from CNN
CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.
CNN U.S.
CNN TV E-mail Services CNN Mobile CNNAvantGo Ad Info About Us Preferences
Search
© 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map.
Offsite Icon External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pipeline Icon Pay service with live and archived video. Learn more
Radio News Icon Download audio news  |  RSS Feed Add RSS headlines