A family of American tourists sparked pandemonium at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday when they tried to pass through security with an unexploded shell they had found while touring the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Video of the scene showed travellers sprinting for safety and ducking behind luggage and counters as parents called frantically for their children. Israel’s state of permanent readiness for attack was on display as dozens of people instantly assumed prone positions on the floor of the departure hall.
There was no explosion, but a 32-year-old man was hospitalised for injuries he received when he tried to run along a luggage conveyor belt, according to the Israel Airports Authority.
The incident reportedly started when security screeners found a suspicious object in the family’s luggage and identified it as unexploded ordnance. Officials immediately triggered evacuation procedures, creating panic throughout the terminal.
The family told agents that one of their children had found the object while they were sightseeing in the Golan Heights, a mountainous area 95 miles northeast of Jerusalem – and 50 miles from Damascus – that Israel captured from Syria in 1967. The family said they were taking it home as a souvenir – unaware of its hazardous nature, according to local media.
Security officials cancelled evacuation orders after questioning the family. They were allowed to board their flight.
Read the article by Steve Hendrix in the Traveller.