Delayed passengers growl after a bear escapes from crate in cargo hold of an Iraqi plane in Dubai

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi airline says it’s not to blame for a bear’s escape from a crate in the cargo hold of one of its planes in Dubai. Iraq’s prime minister has ordered the country’s transportation minister to conduct an investigation into the incident. A video circulating on social media showed the plane’s captain apologizing to passengers for a takeoff delay because of the bear being loose in the cargo hold. Iraqi Airways said in a statement Sunday that the plane’s crew worked with authorities in the United Arab Emirates, who dispatched specialists to sedate the animal and remove it from the plane.