A plane carrying 161 passengers from Poland to Egypt was forced to make an emergency landing in eastern Bulgaria early today because of a bomb scare, airport officials said.

The aircraft had been en route from Warsaw to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada when one of the travellers, a man in his sixties, announced there were explosives on board.

"The plane made an emergency landing at Burgas airport at 0545 (0345 GMT) after a passenger said there was a bomb onboard," airport spokeswoman Kristina Neykova said today.

The passengers were evacuated from the aircraft and Bulgarian security forces conducted an extensive search of the plane, she added.

The man who sparked the incident has been taken into custody.