Breaking: Explosives Found at Tri-State Airport
Explosive Substances Found at Tri-State Airport.
Tri-State Airport in Wayne County has been evacuated. A perimeter has been set up, and evacuees are being asked to stand back 350 feet from the airport.
The Transportation Security Administration reports that a passenger’s water bottle screened positive for an explosive material around 9:15 this morning. A second test was confirmed at 11:25.
NBC News reports that federal screeners found four containers of liquids inside a woman’s carry-on bag during the screening process this morning. Larry Salyers, Tri-State Airport Director, tells WSAZ the woman is of Pakistani origin, lived in Jackson, Michigan and most recently lived in the Huntington area. She is being detained for questioning.
FBI officials are on scene.
UPDATE at 8/17/06 1:38:21 pm:
The Associated Press forgets to mention that the suspect is Pakistani: Bottle Prompts W.Va. Terminal Evacuation.
A West Virginia airport terminal was evacuated Thursday after a female passenger’s water bottle twice tested positive for explosives, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said.
“The bomb squad is on site and the woman is being interviewed by the FBI,” Amy von Walter said.
Security checkpoint screeners got a positive test on a machine that uses swabs to find traces of explosives, von Walter said. A bomb- sniffing dog also reacted to the water bottle.
A screener noticed the bottle in a woman’s carryon bag as she prepared to board a flight to Charlotte, N.C., said Tri-State Airport authority President Jim Booton.
Commercial airline service was temporarily suspended, and about 100 passengers and airport employees were ordered to leave the terminal, Booton said.
At least one flight was diverted to Charleston’s Yeager Airport, about 60 miles away.
UPDATE at 8/17/06 5:38:10 pm:
CBS News says the substances that tested positive were cosmetics.
(CBS/AP)�A terminal at the Tri-State Airport was evacuated Thursday morning after two containers in a female passenger’s bag tested positive for liquid explosives, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said.
“The bomb squad is on site and the woman is being interviewed by the FBI,” the TSA’s Amy von Walter said. “It looks like there were four items containing liquids … two of those containers tested positive.”
But law enforcement sources say the substances that tested positive were cosmetic-based products and not a threat CBS News reports.