Relieved passengers back in Israel

There was no visible damage to the Israeli plane

Passengers on the Israeli aircraft targeted in a failed missile attack above Kenya have expressed their relief at landing safely in Tel Aviv.

Israeli F-15 jets escorted the plane for the last section of the journey, checking the fuselage to ensure there was no damage that might affect the landing, passengers said.

Passengers broke into spontaneous applause and started singing a popular Israeli song as the plane touched down at Ben Gurion airport.

The missile went about one metre above the wing... It was a bazooka or something like that

Passenger Ezra Gozlan

Many had been unaware that something had happened to the plane until the pilot made an announcement about half an hour before landing.

Some said there was an emotional atmosphere aboard the plane afterwards.

"People began to cry when they heard the news," one passenger said.

All 261 passengers on the Arkia flight IZ582 were unharmed, Israeli security officials said.

Some were crying, some composed, a BBC correspondent at the airport said.

Airport workers handed out roses to women passengers.

Emergency landing considered

Some passengers said they saw flashes and felt a jolt after the plane took off from Mombasa airport.

One Israeli, sitting near the back of the aircraft, said he saw a missile fly over the wing moments after take-off.

"All the wheels were in the air and then we heard the explosion. It (the missile) went about one metre above the wing," 62-year-old Ezra Gozlan told Israeli radio.

"The moment I heard the explosion I looked out of the window and saw the smoke. It was a missile or something like that."

Passengers had been holidaying in Kenya

Others said they thought something had fallen off the wing or that the engines had hit a bird.

The captain came over the intercom to say that everything was OK and that there was nothing to worry about.

There was "no panic", a woman passenger said.

Another said her hands were shaking life a leaf, and that "until the last moment, we didn't believe everything was going to be fine".

"Thank God we are here," said another passenger, vowing never to go abroad again.

According to Israeli television, the pilot did at first consider an emergency landing in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. However after consultations it was decided to continue to Israel.

A Kenyan police spokesman said two missiles had been fired at the plane from about two kilometres from Mombasa airport.

He said the attack happened about five minutes before the blast at a coastal hotel.