Funny smell delays flight

A Chicago-bound flight was evacuated and delayed six hours after a crew member smelled a strange odour coming from a carry-on bag, San Francisco International Airport officials have said.

Officials said the United Airlines flight was taxiing to the runway yesterday morning when a flight attendant noticed a "pungent chemical odour" emanating from a bag that contained Chinese herbs.

The passengers were taken off the plane and re-screened, while dogs and hazardous materials and explosive teams searched the aircraft.

Investigators did not find anything suspicious on the plane or passengers and determined the strange smell came from the Chinese herbs, which were owned by an elderly couple who did not speak English fluently.