“There’s a bomb onboard,” Minsk told the crew of the place which Protasevich boarded

Belarusian authorities told Ryanair flight crew that the plane was trapped and “advised” them to land in Minsk, according to a recording of the conversation between the pilot and the control tower released today.

“We have information from the secret services that there is a bomb onboard and is going to be detonated over Vilnius,” said the statement which was released in English by the Belarussian Ministry of Transport.

“Can you repeat this message?” the pilot replies and his interlocutors confirm the same information.

Also read: Possible sanctions on Belarus at today’s EU summit

During the conversation, the controller clarified that the bomb alert had been sent “by email” and that this information had been communicated to “many airports”.

In a statement, the Belarusian Ministry of Transport reiterated today that this is an email stating that it comes from the Palestinian organization Hamas and that the bomb will explode over Vilnius if the European Union continues to support Israel.

The recording of the conversation with the control tower shows that the control tower was the one who persistently recommended that the plane land in Minsk.

When the pilot asked where the “recommendation” came from, the tower replied “these are our recommendations”.

Belarusian authorities have been accused of hijacking a passenger flight from Athens to Vilnius, landing it in Minsk to arrest Roman Protasevich, a 26-year-old opposition journalist.

Also read:  Belarus | Intelligence agents board Ryanair plane

Source: ANA MPA