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Security breach prompts airport evacuation

Officials say no danger; rescreening complete

Two concourses at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport were evacuated Friday morning.
Two concourses at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport were evacuated Friday morning.  


CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) -- Hundreds of passengers were forced to evacuate two concourses at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and undergo rescreening after a security breach, city and airport officials said.

Officials said there wasn't any danger despite the breach.

The breach occurred when a screening machine detected the presence of possible explosives in a carry-on bag, but the passenger was not stopped. As a result, the area was evacuated, said Fred Szabo, the airport commissioner

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Both Concourse C, which serves Continental and Northwest airlines, and the adjacent Concourse D, which serves Continental Express, were evacuated, but they re-opened after about one hour and 20 minutes.

Szabo said the passenger or bag in question has not been found, but he described himself as "confident" that there was no danger because of the rescreening and search of the area.

"We didn't find any bag or anything that wasn't supposed to be there," he said.

An aide to Mayor Jane Campbell said the screening machine has sometimes returned false positives.

Szabo said a "small number" of flights were canceled because of the incident.



 
 
 
 


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