Schiphol terminal evacuated after probable WWII bomb found

THE HAGUE - Agence France-Presse

Schiphol International airport. EPA Photo

Security personnel evacuated a terminal at Amsterdam's Schiphol International airport after discovering what was believed to be a bomb dating from World War II.
 
"During work this morning at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) we found an object which is probably a bomb from World War II," Schiphol spokeswoman Marianne de Bie told AFP.
 
Terminal C, from where planes depart to Europe's 26-country passport-free Schengen zone, was evacuated and closed as "a precaution" she said, adding delays and cancellations were expected.
 
De Bie said she did not know how long the hold-up would last and that a bomb disposal team would have to inspect the area.
 
A spokesman for the Dutch military police, tasked with border security, confirmed explosive removal experts were on the scene, but could not say how long the investigation would take.
 
"We are awaiting word from them," Martijn Peelen told AFP.
 
Between 120,000 and 140,000 passengers pass daily through Schiphol, Europe's fifth-largest airport.
 
Unexploded bombs and sea mines dating back to World War II are regularly found by Dutch fishing trawlers or farmers ploughing their lands, sometimes with deadly consequences.
 
Three Dutch fishermen died in April 2005 when a World War II bomb exploded on the deck of a trawler in the North Sea after it snagged in a net, prompting the Dutch and Belgian navies to ramp up the hunt for old explosives.