Singapore Airlines flight delayed due to "white powder" scare

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A Singapore Airlines flight was delayed on Monday by a white powdery substance found on board before takeoff, the company said.

A company spokesman said the substance was found to be " harmless" after initial investigations.

The 276 passengers and 16 crew on board the flight SQ806 were transferred to another aircraft, and the flight left at 7:20 p.m. local time, two hours and a half after the scheduled departure time.

The flight was bound for Beijing from Singapore. Local daily Straits Times cited tweets from passengers as saying that the flight was delayed due to discovery of a "suspicious white substance" in the baggage area at about 3:45 p.m. local time.