Danish law enforcement officials arrested two men at the Kastrup Airport in Copenhagen, after the airport was evacuated due to the suspects’ conversation about one of them having a bomb in his bag.
At about noontime local time Wednesday, Kastrup’s Terminal 3 was evacuated as police were notified of the two men’s discussion; a “suspicious” bag was later spotted by authorities. Bomb experts, police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks then made their way to the airport, while transportation going there was briefly put on hold. Check-ins were temporarily moved to Terminal 2 and passengers were notified of potential delays.
The terminal was eventually reopened a few hours afterwards. The suspects, however, denied having an actual bomb with them, according to statements from Copenhagen police. Reports also claim that the evacuation lasted about an hour.
“They said that they were only joking with each other,” said police spokesman Steen Hansen. “Apparently, they are friends, though one was going to Paris and the other was flying to Frankfurt.” Authorities did not disclose the names and nationalities of the suspects.
The incident comes on the heels of Danish police raising Denmark’s threat level by one notch to the second-highest. This was due to increased risk of terrorist attacks in the aftermath of Friday’s Paris terrorist attacks that had killed over one hundred people and injured many others.