WATCH: A WestJet flight from Edmonton to Toronto was forced to make a frightening stopover Monday night. It had to land in Winnipeg because a threat was made to the plane. It was the third threat involving a flight in the last week. Jennifer Tryon reports.
WINNIPEG — Fire and emergency crews were on the tarmac after the emergency landing of a commercial plane at Winnipeg James Richardson International Airport.
Winnipeg fire crews and RCMP were dispatched at roughly 8:30 p.m. Monday for the report of an aircraft with a bomb threat. The RCMP explosives canine unit was also called in, RCMP said Tuesday morning.
WestJet tweeted from their account just before 9 p.m. confirming that flight WS442 from Edmonton to Toronto was diverted to Winnipeg after receiving a threat. The aircraft landed safely and was evacuated, with guests and crew using emergency chutes deployed from the doors.
There were 54 passengers and five crew members on board at the time.
Those who have been evacuated were sheltered in city buses nearby then driven away.
In a tweet WestJet said six of the passengers had to be taken to hospital for injuries sustained during evacuation.
WestJet tweeted out that everyone on board the diverted plane will spend the night in a hotel before continuing their travels Tuesday morning with passengers expected to arrive in Toronto around 2 p.m.
As of 11 p.m. CST there were seven delayed arrivals and one delayed departure at the airport. It is unclear if the delays were a direct impact of the diverted plane. Other flights were still on schedule.
WATCH: For the second time in three days a WestJet flight was forced to make an emergency landing due to a threat. Jessica Kent has the details.
The airline would not provide any information on the nature of the threat.
This is the second time a WestJet flight was forced to make an emergency landing due to a threat in recent days. A similar situation led to a WestJet flight being diverted and landing in Saskatoon over the weekend.
READ MORE: WestJet bomb threat call made to Ontario airport
WATCH: The recent bomb threats might have passengers thinking about flight security, but for the most part people would rather personnel are cautious of every threat. Lisa MacGregor reports.
-with files from Canadian Press
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