Cremated Remains Prompt Airport Evacuation

Friday, October 5th 2007, 11:06 am

By: News On 6

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Hundreds of travelers were evacuated from an airport and had to go through security a second time Friday after an urn with cremated remains was improperly screened, authorities said.

The Transportation Security Administration said officials could not locate the passenger to rescreen the urn, so the concourses were evacuated around 6:20 a.m. as a precaution.

The evacuated passengers then went through security screening again and the concourses reopened around 7:35, airport spokeswoman Susan Sullivan said.

Eight flights were delayed, affecting nearly 700 passengers, but no flights were canceled, Sullivan said.

The TSA cannot comment on what specifically went wrong with the screening of the urn Friday, said spokeswoman Lara Uselding.

A TSA statement said that passengers may include a crematory container in their carry-on luggage, unless it generates an opaque image during the X-ray that prevents the screener from seeing what is inside. Those urns are not allowed through the checkpoint, the statement said.