Dutch Release Detained Passengers

Dutch prosecutors said Thursday they found no evidence of explosives or a terrorist threat aboard a U.S. airliner that was diverted to Amsterdam, and are releasing all 12 passengers arrested after the flight made an emergency landing.

The prosecutors said the men, all Indian nationals, had aroused the suspicion of the crew and air marshals on the Northwest Airlines flight to Bombay because they had a large number of cell phones and other equipment, and refused to follow instructions.

"A thorough investigation of the cell phones in the plane found that the phones were not manipulated and no explosives were found on board the plane," said a statement from the prosecutor's office in Haarlem, which has jurisdiction over Schiphol Airport.

"From the statements of the suspects and the witnesses, no evidence could be brought forward that these men were about to commit an act of violence," the statement said.

Wednesday's Northwest Airlines flight was escorted back to Schiphol Airport by Dutch fighter jets after the crew of the DC-10 became suspicious of some of the passengers, and 12 people aboard were arrested.

The plane was carrying 149 passengers, when it turned around after crossing the German border. A Northwest DC-10 has a normal seating capacity of 273.

The flight was canceled until Thursday, and the passengers were put up in hotels, Northwest said.

Like airports around the world, Schiphol raised the level of security two weeks ago when British police announced they had uncovered a plot to blow up several U.S.-bound commercial jetliners, but officials said threat levels had returned to normal.

Several alerts have been sounded since the terrorism plot was outlined in London. On Friday, a British plane made an emergency landing in southern Italy after a bomb scare, and the U.S. Air Force scrambled jets to escort a United Airlines flight from London to Washington as it was diverted to Boston.

Wednesday's security alert was the first at Amsterdam's international airport since September, when a British Airways flight returned in similar circumstances. It turned out to be a false alarm.