Two stories from Britain tell of a Jeep Cherokee on fire that tried to ram through security barriers at Glasgow airport. First story from from BBC news:
Eyewitnesses have described a Jeep Cherokee being driven at speed towards the building with flames coming out from underneath.
They have also described seeing two Asian men, one of whom was on fire, who had been in the car.
The airport has been evacuated and all flights suspended following the incident at 1515 BST.
One eyewitness said: “I heard the sound of a car’s wheels spinning and smoke coming out.
Reports are confused and limited at this time, probably in an effort to keep panic down. The Telegraph witnesses interviewed say it was a Land Rover, not a Cherokee.
Second story at the Telegraph.
NOTE the AP Wire version, which completely omits any possible connection or evidence that this could be related to terrorism:
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) – A driver tried to ram a burning Jeep Cherokee into the main terminal building of Glasgow airport Saturday, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported, citing witnesses. The BBC report said the airport was evacuated and all flights suspended after the flaming Jeep drove at full speed toward the terminal building. Police, however, said two cars had crashed outside the airport, with one of them bursting into flames. Strathclyde Police spokeswoman Lisa O’Neil did not confirm media reports saying the motorist tried to drive into the terminal building. “One car is on fire, but it is not clear if it went inside the terminal building,” she said.
Here’s a link to the Live feed from BBC, but at the moment it’s getting internet swarmed and appears down.
Update: Fox is carrying Live right now.
From the closeups and the coverage seen so far it appears to be the lower G-3 through 5 G-1 entrance which was rammed; there are two levels — an upper for arrivals Departures, and a lower for departures Arrivals. Here are maps of the two:
<<<<<Lower left, upper right>>>>>>
Click on thumbnails to enlarge
UPDATE: I have removed the question mark in the headline for this story. This was deliberate.
UPDATE: from KC Star —
The incident also comes exactly one week before the second anniversary of the July 7 bombings that killed 52 people.
Leeson said bollards — security posts outside the entrance — stopped the driver from barreling into the bustling terminal at Glasgow’s airport.
“He’s trying to get through the main door frame but the bollards have stopped him from going through. If he’d got through, he’d have killed hundreds, obviously,” he said.
Leeson said only the nose of the vehicle made it inside the building. Richard Grey told the BBC that the vehicle was lodged into the center of the terminal’s main entrance.
“The jeep is completely on fire and it exploded not long after. It exploded at the entrance to the terminal,” witness Stephen Clarkson told the BBC. “It may have been an explosion of petrol in the tank because it was not a massive explosion.”
Two men — one of them engulfed in flames — were in the SUV, witnesses told BBC News executive Helen Boaden, who was at the airport at time. She described the men as South Asian.
Clarkson described him as a large South Asian man. “His whole body was on fire…. He was just talking gibberish,” he told the BBC.
“An Asian guy had been pulled out of the car by two police officers he was trying to fight off and they’d got him on the floor,” Grey told the BBC.
Boaden said police “wrestled him to the ground — the fire was burning through his clothes — and finally put him out with a fire extinguisher.”
I have to check out a bit, date with my wonderful wife of 23 years. For continued updates please use this link and refresh periodically.
UPDATE: Ok, so I missed the window, my wife has changed, and I am in the doghouse now… Not looking good for the weekend!
UPDATE: Homeland security has issued bulletins :
1. Be on the lookout for VBIED’s — Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Devices, or Suicide Car Bombs in layman’s terms.
2. Security levels raised all airports.
UPDATE: LGF has video up
UPDATE : BLACKPOOL AIRPORT CLOSED