Arrest after China flight blow-up threat: Xinhua

BEIJING (AFP) - Police in southern China have arrested a man suspected of threatening to blow up a commercial jet, following a similar incident affecting a flight from Beijing, state press said on Sunday.

Police arrested Xiong Yi, 29, in Dongguan city on Saturday after tracing an anonymous phone call threatening a flight from Shenzhen airport on Thursday, Xinhua news agency said.

Xiong confessed that he warned airport officials that explosives would be detonated on a Shenzhen Airlines flight 45 minutes after take-off, forcing air controllers to divert the flight, the report said.

After inspecting the grounded plane, police found no dangerous items on board, it said.