Security scare in Mumbai airport over 'parachute' sightings

The spotting of five radio-controlled parachute-like objects over the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here has sent the security agencies in a tizzy to unearth the exact details.
Meanwhile, security inside and around the Mumbai airport has been beefed up.

According to reports, on Saturday evening a pilot of Jet Airways reported the sighting to the Air Traffic Control (ATC). An ATC supervisor too spotted it from binoculars.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office asked the Mumbai Police, the Central Industrial Security Force, which looks after airport security, the Intelligence Bureau and the Indian Air Force and Navy to probe into the incident and submit a report. The ATC of the Juhu airport has also been contacted. Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Mumbai International Airport Ltd were not available for comments.

Following the incident, the AAI also contacted the Regional Meteorological Observatory asking whether they have used any balloons for weather data purpose. However, the response was negative. One source said, “the objects could be chinese lanterns.”

“We are not in a position to say anything as yet. Since no one has filed a complaint with us, we have not registered any case as of now. Only after the probe is complete, the report would be submitted to concerned authorities,” deputy commissioner of police Virendra Mishra said.