Bomb scare at Maui Maui police evacuated about 500 people at Kahului Airport last night after a carry-on bag was suspected to have explosives.
airport forces the
evacuation of 500
A carry-on bag with electronic
devices may be the culprit,
a transport official saysBy Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.comState transportation officials said the bag was discovered a little after 7 p.m.
"They were putting a bag through an X-ray machine, and it tested positive for explosives," said state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali. "Hopefully it's not a bomb, but we're treating this as something to be taken seriously."
It was serious enough for would-be air travelers to have to wait outside in the parking lot while a military explosive ordnance team checked out the bag.
"They sent us all the way to the parking lot by the rental car side," said Waipahu resident Noli Domrique, who was returning to Oahu after working on a construction job on Maui. "They had firefighters come in, police come in, and said go to the far side of the parking lot."
Maui police also redirected airport traffic to nearby Alele Street.
Maui Civil Defense officials said while the bag was found on Maui, the bag's owner continued on, catching a flight to Kauai. Kauai police met the unidentified man at Lihue Airport and held him for questioning.
Airports nationwide reopened Thursday after being closed because of Tuesday's suicide-hijacker attacks in Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and New York.
Since reopening, airports on the mainland reporting bomb scares have forced the closure of neighboring airports.
Kali said that would not be the case in Hawaii.
"This does not affect other airports," said Kali, who was unsure late last night when Kahului would reopen.
At about 9:30 p.m., Kali said the owner of the bag told Kauai police that his carry-on contained a Walkman radio and a walkie-talkie. Kali said that would have to be verified by bomb experts before a decision to reopen could be made.
Star-Bulletin reporters Gordon Pang and Gary T. Kubota contributed to this report.
