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Update: “Harmless”

Could be something, could be nothing:

A Miami International Airport terminal was evacuated early Monday after authorities found what appeared to be an explosive device at a security checkpoint.

“A possible explosive device showed up in an X-ray machine at the checkpoint,” airport spokesman Greg Chin said. He said the Miami-Dade bomb squad was investigating and had no further information.

Passengers were evacuated from Terminal F, which serves United Airlines domestic and international flights.

CBS 4 in Miami has a few more details from the scene:

Details are sketchy, but traffic to and from the airport apparently has not been halted, as passengers are allowed to go to and from other concourses. From Chopper 4, police could be seen directing buses and vehicle traffic away from the roadways immediately in front of the concourse.

Airlines with service at Concourse F include Aeropostal, Air France, Avianca, Sun Country, Swiss International, Mexicana, and United.

Passengers can be seen, many with luggage, gathered beyond the vehicle lanes at the airport.

The Miami Herald quotes an airport spokesman:

Hundreds were evacuated from the airport, as a bomb squad checks what Greg Chin, an MIA spokesman, described as a possible makeshift explosive device.

”Something showed up in the X-ray machine,” said Chin. “But it could be nothing. Ninety-nine percent of these incidents are false alarms.”

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Related: Patterico posts a thorough assessment of our airline (in)security from Dave Mackett, president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance. Read the whole thing.