Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Port Terminal Evacuated After Possible Bomb Found In Container (From Pakistan?)

Reports Seattlepi.com:

Bomb squads are responding to Terminal 18 on Seattle's waterfront after a canine bomb team found possible explosives in a container, the Coast Guard said this afternoon.

Mike Milne, spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service, said "a couple of (cargo) containers were set aside for standard exam'' and a CBP dog trained to detect explosives "alerted on it.'' CBP followed standard protocols and summoned the Port of Seattle Police bomb squad "to see if there is a threat.''
The container was supposed to hold oily rags but inspectors found objects that were not on the inventory. U.S. Customs and Border Protection then sent in its bomb team.

A 300-yard safety zone has been established around the terminal. The origin of the ship that delivered the containers was not immediately known, but a worker at the terminal reported that the containers may have been from Pakistan.

This could be nothing, but it could also be terrorism related. The containers may have come from Pakistan. We'll keep an eye out for updates.

***Update, 7:46pm***

Fox is reporting that no bombs or explosives were found:

It wasn't immediately clear what prompted the dogs to alert on the containers, but the bomb squad found no explosives or radioactive materials inside, said port spokesman David Schaefer.

The container did, however, originate in Pakistan. It's manifest was slightly off, but authorities said that that was not uncommon.

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