Security hoax forces plane to make emergency landing

An EgyptAir passenger plane en route from Cairo to Beijing was forced to make an emergency landing in Uzbekistan on Wednesday after receiving a security threat that the airline said turned out to be a hoax.

All 118 passengers and 17 crew members on board the plane were evacuated in Urgench, western Uzbekistan, after the threat was made three hours into the flight, EgyptAir said in a statement.

The plane and passengers were searched by Uzbek authorities who confirmed that the threat was a hoax, it said.