Germanwings flight canceled after bomb threat

A French rescue helicopter flies over the French Alps during an operation near the crash site. [Photo/Agencies]

BERLIN - A Germanwings flight in Cologne/Bonn airport was canceled after it received a bomb threat, the airline announced on Sunday.

All of the 132 people onboard, including six crew members, have been evacuated from the plane safely, according to German media reports.

German Federal Police has already released the aircraft after explosive detection dogs and bomb disposal experts failed to find anything suspicious on the plane, German media Focus Online reported, citing a German federal police spokeswoman.

The aircraft, an Airbus A320, is scheduled to leave for Milan at 6:20 pm local time.

The airport received the bomb threat at 6:05 pm local time via e-mail, and the federal police responded at 6:25 pm local time, according to the police spokeswoman.

After receiving the bomb threat, the pilot immediately halted take-off preparations and brought the aircraft to a designated position that is authorized to handle emergency cases, according to Germanwings.

All passengers and crew members left the aircraft there via mobile passenger stairs.

Germanwings said it would offer the passengers as soon as possible transportation in another plane.