A “false” fire alarm on board forced a Druk Air flight to make an emergency landing at Calcutta airport on Sunday morning.

“The alarm went off because of a technical fault in the cargo hold. The fault has been repaired,” said an airport official. The Airbus 319 from Paro (Bhutan) resumed its journey to Bangkok at 1.45 pm.

The flight, carrying 107 passengers, had taken off from Paro safely. “Five minutes before it was scheduled to land at Calcutta, there was an alarm in the cockpit, indicating smoke in the cargo hold,” the official added. The pilot immediately contacted Calcutta’s air traffic control, seeking permission for an emergency landing.

A “full emergency” was declared and fire tenders, an ambulance with medical staff, tow vehicles and water tenders were sent to the landing area. The aircraft, however, landed safely at 9.10 am.

The passengers were evacuated and the aircraft’s cargo hold was checked by the ground staff. There was no indication of fire. Officials said flights were not disrupted.

Last year, an Air Sahara flight from Mumbai made an emergency landing at Calcutta following a fire alarm, triggered by a burning smell in the catering cabin. In October 2005, a London-Singapore Qantas Airlines flight had made an emergency landing following a fire alert in an engine.