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Breaking News

Miami Airport Irritant Likely from Construction

Aired August 21, 2002 - 11:51   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: As promised, we do have more information for you now on that breaking story situation happening down in Miami, Florida at the airport there, at the Miami International Airport. Concourse B having been shut down for well over an hour now as HAZMAT crews and fire and rescue officials have gone inside to investigate reports of some sort of irritant being in the air around a particular security checkpoint, that affected a number of people.
At last count, we heard 36 people were being treated by the fire and rescue people who were there on the scene. And as we understand it, we just learned moments ago from the chief of security at the airport, Mark Farar (ph), that they believe they may have pinpointed the cause of the problem there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: clear that this...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys, you should come to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... contaminant found at all, and in fact, when we were able to shut down during the screening process, had determined very quickly that it could have come from a construction project that was above and below. As you know, Miami International Airport is under significant improvement right now, but I will let Mark Farar (ph), our chief of security for Miami International Airport, explain the entire process.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. What happened while the screening was taking place, a large -- 35 people were affected almost immediately by an irritant that was apparently airborne. That caused them to suspect the bags. The bags were immediately inspected for some type of source, which was determined to be negative. So then, they looked up and saw the air vents, and then that became the suspect source at that time. Fire...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And so what we are getting now is a situation that we have been following there at the airport in Miami may have all been due to some sort of an accident there, some sort of construction accident is what we are getting there from the people, the officials who are now talking to the press, and apparently this accident released some sort of chemical or some sort of aerosol, as they say, that got into the air and irritated a number of the passengers who were there on the concourse. As you see there, it was at Concourse B at the airport, and that we just heard on the tape there, 35 now being the number of people who are being treated for some sort of respiratory distress as their affliction has been described to us this morning.

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