Airport bomb hoax
MAIKHAO: At 5:15 pm yesterday, an anonymous phone call was made to staff at Phuket International Airport by a man claiming that a bomb had been planted and was set to go off in 30 minutes. The call was made from a public phone by a man believed to be a Thai. After immediately notifying the police, staff informed the airport security guards who searched the terminal for the device. Passengers, unaware of the threat, continued to check in. Reluctant to unnecessarily create panic among the passengers, staff delayed announcing the bomb threat until it could be confirmed. The search by both the police and airport security revealed nothing. “The threatening phone call was a nuisance that we had to take very seriously,” said the airport director, Lt Cdr Boonchart Prompoon. The hoax was the first potentially serious incident faced by Lt Cdr Boonchart since arriving in his new position one week ago. He replaced Suthara Huangsuwan, who was moved to Chiang Mai last month shortly after a licensed taxi driver was beaten to death in front of the airport by an unlicensed driver in a dispute over a customer. “Because our guards do regular security sweeps around the airport grounds and the terminal, it is not easy for anyone to plant a bomb here without us noticing,” said Lt Cdr Boonchart. “The problem with the hoax call is that its publicity tarnishes Phuket’s image,” he added.
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