Terminal at Nice airport briefly evacuated over suspicious luggage - reports
Passengers were evacuated from Terminal 2 of Nice airport on Monday over suspicious abandoned luggage, local media and witnesses report.
A suspicious bag was found in the Air France boarding area, according to the local Nice Matin newspaper, citing a witness.
Two other suspicious packages were earlier found in the terminal, the same source said.
Almost an hour after the start of the evacuation, police reportedly removed the suspicious package and passengers were able to enter the airport.
#aeroport#nice on attends... pic.twitter.com/tAIkODgCzY
— watt2fake (@gaeltriam) August 15, 2016
One witness wrote of an "explosive alarm" going off, signalling the start of the evacuation.
L'aéroport de #Nice évacué pour colis suspects. Calme fataliste entre voyageurs entassés à l'ombre des parkings... pic.twitter.com/flDMJUVApO
— Julie Joly (@JulieJoly) August 15, 2016
Photos on social media showed long lines of passengers standing in front of the airport and police officers cordoning off the area.
Évacuation du Terminal 2 de l'aéroport de Nice...Les usagers cuisent sur le parking. pic.twitter.com/iuv3C3OMHh
— Florine Bessard (@Boldoflorine06) August 15, 2016
France has been on high alert having been hit by a series of Islamic State-linked (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) attacks since January 2015. The worst occurred in November last year, when at least 130 people were killed in Paris. That led to the French government introducing a state of emergency, which is still in place.
An attack hit Nice on July 14 of this year, when a truck driven by an IS sympathizer plowed through a crowd during Bastille Day celebrations, killing at least 84 people.
