London City Airport Is Declared Safe After 500 Are Evacuated

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/world/europe/london-city-airport-evacuation.html

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LONDON — London City Airport was declared safe on Friday, several hours after 500 people were evacuated in what the authorities had described as a possible “chemical incident.”

Passengers and airport workers were evacuated from the small airport after some people felt unwell. Less than four hours later, the Fire Brigade said it had found no evidence of any unusual chemicals, leading to speculation about what had caused the panic in the first place.

Ambulance staff treated 27 patients onsite; the London Ambulance Service said that all were treated for minor breathing difficulties and two were hospitalized, but provided no further details.

Firefighters and police officers wearing protective equipment made two complete sweeps of the airport, but “no elevated readings were found and the building was ventilated, searched and declared safe,” the Fire Brigade said.

Britain has been on a high state of terrorist alert for many months now, with officials warning that setbacks for the Islamic State group in the Middle East could lead to more attacks in Europe. The level of alert is “severe,” meaning that an attack is considered highly likely.

Earlier on Friday, the police announced the arrest of a 19-year-old man under the Terrorism Act, one day after a suspicious device was found on a London subway train. The police carried out a controlled explosion of the device, which a rider discovered unattended on the Jubilee Line at the North Greenwich station, which was briefly evacuated. The police have declined to describe the device or explain why it was considered suspicious.

The man, who was not identified, was arrested on Holloway Road, north London, after the police discharged Tasers. The man was arrested “on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorism acts, under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

The police ordered extra officers to patrol the subway system, but said they were not looking for other suspects.