Empty runways and gates are see at Miami International Airport after Hurricane Irma strikes Florida, in Miami (Reuters)
The Miami International Airport was briefly evacuated on Saturday night after a janitor found what appeared to be an explosive device in an unattended bag.
The Miami Herald reports that passengers and airport personnel were evacuated from Concourse J at around 8 p.m., after the employee spotted what was eventually determined to be a toy grenade inside a bag in one of the ladies’ restrooms.
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“Yes, like the grenades you see in the cartoons,” Lee Cowart, a Miami-Dade spokesperson, told the Herald. “But you have to understand, when something that had the potential to end another way ends like this, you realize tonight is a good night.”
In addition to Concourse J, authorities evacuated a few nearby terminals in the north side of the airport, according to CBS Miami.
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The device was eventually found to be inert, and after about an hour and a half, authorities allowed passengers to re-enter the airport. In total, only around seven flights were delayed, WCBV reports.
“Thank you for your patience this evening,” airport officials wrote on Twitter following the incident. "Security and safety always first."
Meanwhile, police tell the Herald that it’s still “unclear” as to who put the bag and/or toy grenade in the bathroom, but authorities are currently investigating.
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“It would be speculation at this point to determine whether it was a novelty item that perhaps a child left behind in the bathroom or whether someone meant something more malicious by that,” said Cowart in a statement obtained by CBS Miami.
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