Scorpions run loose on Vietnam Airlines flight
Six scorpions were found crawling aboard a Vietnam Airlines flight on Monday, the carrier reported Wednesday.
Passengers on the Hanoi-bound flight were evacuated just after boarding when two scorpions were found in the aisles.
Nguyen Long, a passenger on the flight originating in Da Nang, told Thanh Nien that he had glimpsed “a small black thing” dashing across the aisle before takeoff.
After the stow-away arachnids were captured by flight attendants, a two-hour cabin and luggage check ensued.
No more scorpions were found, the passengers re-boarded and the plane departed.
However, once the plane reached Hanoi, four more scorpions were found by passengers in an overhead compartment, said Huynh Thi Tuong Van, an official from the Vietnam Airlines’ Central Vietnam office.
Long said the last four scorpions were caught by passengers using the plane’s convenience bags as other passengers shouted in fear.
The Boeing 777 had previously flown from Hanoi to Da Nang, and had been cleaned before boarding time, said Van.
The incident was the first time scorpions had been found on board a Vietnam Airlines flight, she said.
She admitted that the airline had not concluded where or how the scorpions had boarded the aircraft.
In April, a Vietnam Airlines flight to Tokyo was delayed after a passenger told airport officials his white mouse had gone missing en route from Da Nang to Hanoi.
The mouse was found in a food compartment in the Boeing 777’s galley and was destroyed a day later when its owner did not return to claim it.
By Dieu Hien - Thanh Nien - December 16, 2007.
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