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A suspicious device found on an Air France flight from Mauritius to Paris that caused it to make an emergency landing was harmless.

According to Frederic Gagey, the airline’s chief executive, the incident was a false alarm.

He said it was decided to land at the closest airport able to handle a Boeing 777 aircraft, after a passenger found the object in the toilets.

Gagey added that the object was a mixture of cardboard, sheets of paper and a timer.

Earlier, Kenyan authorities said they were investigating the nature of a suspicious device found aboard an Air France flight from Mauritius.

The plane had to make an emergency landing at Kenya’s port city of Mombasa, where the 459 passengers and 14 crew on-board were evacuated.