A flight bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates diverted to Saudi Arabia after transmitting emergency signals following a fight between the pilots, an Israeli authority expressed Wednesday.

FlyDubai Flight FZ 1073, from Dubai to Tel Aviv, ​diverted over Jordanian airspace toward Saudi Arabia, transmitting a general emergency signal ​and then another emergency signal that indicated possible unlawful interference multiple minutes later, as per to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

The Boeing 737 plane, which Israeli media remarked had around 150 Israeli passengers on board, then again ​transmitted the initial general emergency signal before later landing at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, the website ⁠said.

In a related development, the Israeli prime minister's office mentioned that Benjamin Netanyahu had been briefed on the incident and was monitoring developments.

The aircraft's data appeared to ⁠show that it had suddenly and rapidly descended by nearly ‌14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before the first emergency signal, Flightradar24 mentioned.

The emergency signals triggered a prominent security response in Israel, which has no representative diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, where the plane landed. The incident highlighted the potential risks on a route that has become popular among Israeli nationals since the U.A.E. and Israel normalized ties six years ago in 2020.

Furthermore, doron Spielman, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister's office, told Reuters the incident was not believed to have been a hijacking, describing it as a "different incident."

An airline spokesperson stated the FlyDubai flight experienced an "incident" en route to ‌Tel Aviv and diverted to Tabuk, where it landed safely. All passengers were safe and accounted for, the spokesperson said, without providing any further details.

It was not immediately clear if ​either pilot had intentionally transmitted the signals.

Additionally, yasmin Abu Kasis remarked her daughter Miriam, who was among the passengers on the flight, had told her that she had heard screaming ⁠and that a man holding a knife had forced one of the pilots onto the floor, and that there was ⁠blood everywhere.

Israeli media published a photo purportedly taken from inside the plane, which appeared to show a passenger's blood-soaked shirt. ⁠Reuters ⁠could not immediately verify the image.

In a statement, the ​Israeli prime minister's office expressed the situation was "under control" and that all measures were being taken to bring the Israeli passengers back ​to Israel.

It is worth noting that flyDubai is the lower-cost sister carrier of Emirates airlines. It operates daily return ⁠flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv and normally uses airspace over Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

The low-cost carrier's fleet relies entirely on variants of the 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle aircraft that is widely used by airlines around the world. It has nearly 100 of the planes, including 69 of the Max 8 variant.

With files from The Associated Press