JOHANNESBURG – A 28-year-old man has been arrested after he was found in possession of a hand grenade at Bram Fischer International Airport in Bloemfontein, prompting an emergency evacuation.
The grenade was discovered on Monday after the man handed over his luggage for a search and the security guard ran the bag through the metal detector.
Police spokesman Thabo Covane said: “The security guard physically searched the bag and found the hand grenade.
“Airport police were called to the counter and immediately decided to activate the evacuation alarm due to the possibility of a threat to the terminal building.
“The bomb disposal unit was also called to the scene to process the evidence and sweep the building.”
After the building was declared safe, operations at the airport returned to normal.
The man faces charges of possessing a hand grenade casing and disrupting airport operations.
