Turkish Airlines plane diverted after bomb threat

No explosives were found aboard a Turkish Airlines plane that was diverted to the Canadian east coast city of Halifax on Saturday night due to a bomb threat, authorities said.

Police in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia said on Twitter that officers had completed the search of the Istanbul-bound flight TK2 at around 4.25 a.m. local time (GMT0825) and that no explosive device was found.

"The Turkish Airlines aircraft is scheduled to continue on to Istanbul later this morning. The investigation into the threat is ongoing," police said.

The Airbus A330 jet had taken off from New York John F. Kennedy Airport at 9.03 p.m. local time (0203GMT), according to Turkish Airlines' online flight status page.

Police said the plane had to land at Halifax Stanfield International Airport after a bomb threat was received. The airport said all 256 people onboard were safe.

The diversion came several days after two Paris-bound Air France planes departing from the U.S. were diverted due to anonymous bomb threats.

Flight 55, from Dulles Airport outside Washington, D.C., and Flight 65, from Los Angeles, made emergency landings in Halifax and in the western U.S. city of Salt Lake City, respectively, on Tuesday.

No explosives or related evidence were found on both flights, U.S. and Canadian media said.

The incidents followed Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people.