New York airport terminal evacuated over suspicious luggage

, Feb 5: A terminal at LaGuardia Airport here was partially evacuated after smoke was reportedly coming out from a piece of baggage passing on the conveyor belt.

A luggage-handling staff member reported the incident first.

A staff member found smoke coming out of a baggage in the airport

The clearing in portions of Terminal C began shortly before noon and soon it was found that there was nothing threatening in the luggage. The luggage was being transferred onto a flight to Richmond in Virginia (Flight 5208). The luggage was formally cleared by the bomb squad at 1.05 pm. The bag was taken to a remote place and was X-rayed and was declared to be harmless. The reason for the smoke couldn't be ascertained and the matter remains under investigation.

Hundreds of passengers were told to go out into the cold and snowy thoroughfares outside the terminal. They were recalled back after the baggage was cleared.

The flight to Richmond was delayed by some time because of the incident.

OneIndia News