Liquid Explosives Found at West Virginia Airport?

An airport in West Virginia was evacuated after a woman’s water bottle tested postive for explosives – twice.

From the AP:

West Virginia airport terminal was evacuated Thursday after a female passenger’s water bottle twice tested positive for explosives, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said.

“The bomb squad is on site and the woman is being interviewed by the FBI,” Amy von Walter said.

Security checkpoint screeners got a positive test on a machine that uses swabs to find traces of explosives, von Walter said. A bomb- sniffing dog also reacted to the water bottle.

A screener noticed the bottle in a woman’s carryon bag as she prepared to board a flight to Charlotte, N.C., said Tri-State Airport authority President Jim Booton.

Commercial airline service was temporarily suspended, and about 100 passengers and airport employees were ordered to leave the terminal, Booton said.

At least one flight was diverted to Charleston’s Yeager Airport, about 60 miles away.

And this AP report says that bomb-sniffing dogs sniffed out the woman’s bottle:

tCEREDO, W.Va. (AP) A West Virginia airport terminal was evacuated Thursday afternoon after a bomb-sniffing dog reacted to a bottle filled with a liquid in a passenger’s luggage, an airport official said.

A screener noticed the bottle in a woman’s carryon bag as she prepared to board a flight to Charlotte, N.C., said Tri-State Airport authority President Jim Booton.

The woman was detained for questioning, commercial airline service was temporarily suspended, and about 100 passengers and airport employees were ordered to leave the terminal, Booton said.

At least one flight was diverted to Charleston’s Yeager Airport, about 60 miles away.

The FBI is investigating.

And get this from the BBC:

The bottle was subjected to a swab test and a sniffer dog examination and both tested positive for explosives.

A security guard first spotted the bottle in the bag, Tri-State Airport authority chief Jim Booton said.

Officials say the woman is of Pakistani origin and was travelling on a one-way ticket to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Chris Yates from Jane’s Aviation told the BBC that both tests were extremely sensitive.

Added: I put the question mark at the end of the header of this post because it has not been confirmed that the woman in question had explosives in her water bottle. Although the guy from Jane’s Aviation said these tests are very senstive, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out to be a false alarm – at least I hope it turns out that way.

Update: Thanks to commenter Growler who points to this press release from the TSA:

HUNTINGTON, W. VA. – At 9:15 a.m. EDT at the Huntington, W. Va., airport, Transportation Security Officers detected suspicious items at the checkpoint in a passenger’s carry-on bag. There were four items containing liquids, and two containers tested positive for explosive material.

Federal agencies including the TSA and FBI are on-site conducting interviews and gathering information. The concourse was cleared, affecting approximately 100 passengers.

As of 3:30 p.m. EDT, bomb technicians were on the scene, and the terminal remains closed.

I have to ask the obvious question: why was she attempting to bring on four containers of liquids when the new rules specifically say no liquids except baby formula/milk and liquid medicines? And it doesn’t appear that these containers contained either one of the approved liquids.

Update II: As suspected, it was a false alarm. Her cosmetics caused all the fuss. Again, I’m asking why she was carrying these on the airplane. Was she living under a rock and not hear that virtually all liquids were banned from being in carry-on luggage?