A smoky piece of luggage on the tarmac of Mumbai international airport set off a bomb scare on Thursday at about 10:30pm. The baggage fell off a trolley being lugged by a tractor from an aircraft to the terminal. Ground-handling staff found the luggage with smoke emanating from it.
“The safety and fire staff immediately rushed to the spot and checked the bag,” said an official of the Mumbai International Airport Limited (Mial). The airport bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) was also called in.
The fire staff sprayed the bag with dry chemical powder to control the smoke. The BDDS also performed its drill, declaring the bag safe only at about 11:40pm.When the bag was opened, it was found to have nothing more lethal than someone’s clothes.
A check revealed that it belonged to an Air India passenger who had arrived from Dubai.
“The bag was dragged by the tractor and the friction produced sparks and burnt the clothes,” a member of the BDDS explained.
