Passenger jet explosion 'was not terrorism'

AN explosion that blew a hole the size of a small car in a jumbo jet from London to Melbourne was not a terrorist attack, investigators believe.

Passengers on the Qantas Boeing 747 had to wear oxygen masks when the gaping hole appeared in the jet 30,000ft up.

The aircraft made an emergency landing in Manila in the Philippines.

Initial investigations suggested that a section of fuselage had separated and that there had been an "explosive decompression".