The Guardian, a London newspaper, reported that senior officials from Xinjiang, China, said the plot was uncovered when flight attendants foiled an attempted attack on a Chinese passenger jet.

The report said the China Southern airline prevented an attempt to crash a plane shortly after it took off from the region's capital, Urumqi, Friday.

"Some people were attempting to create an air disaster," Nuer Baikeli, governor of Xinjiang region, told reporters covering the National People's Congress session in Beijing. "Fortunately our air crew took resolute measures, discovered and put a stop to this action promptly."

He said the passengers, crew and aircraft all are safe.

"Who the (terrorists) involved in the incident were, where they were from, what their aim was and what their background was, we are now investigating," he said.