Explosion of Russian Oil Station (Saturday, June 5th)
There has been an explosion at an oil pumping station in the southern Russian town of Neftekumsk, about 100km north of the Chechen border.
Initial reports said a device had been planted underneath a 5,000-tonne oil cistern, causing a fire which was extinguished before it could spread.
There are no reports of any casualties, and local officials said that there was no serious damage. Neftekumsk is in Stavropol region, which borders the volatile Caucasus. Link to Article
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Radioactive Truck Found Near Govt Building in Far East (Russia)
Created: 02.06.2004 20:30 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 11:17 MSK
A truck loaded with a radioactive cargo was discovered parked near a government building in the seaport city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy in the Russian Far East, NTV news channel reported.
The truck was loaded with metal hardware resembling military equipment. Radioactive levels were found to be several times above the norm. Taking special precautions, Emergency Ministry specialists and military personnel drove the truck away. The local prosecutor’s office is investigating the incident. Link to Article
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Fake Explosives Left on KTX Track in Busan (Japan)
Quite a commotion took place this morning when high-speed KTX bullet train service was discontinued for a short time after something resembling explosives was discovered on the tracks. At 7:25 a.m., a 21 centimeter-long, 2.5 centimeter wide object in the shape of a candle and imprinted with an industrial high-explosive dynamite brand name was discovered on the tracks near Busan Station's platform number 9......
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Explosion at Plant in La Porte; One Confirmed Dead (Houston, TX - June 4th)
Updated: 6/4/2004 2:57 PM By: News 24 Houston
There has been an explosion at the Calpine Clear Lake Energy plant in La Porte in the 9600 block of Bayport Road. A spokesperson for Calpine has confirmed that one person was killed in the explosion.
Plant officials say high pressure led to a ruptured water pipe which caused the explosion. "We can confirm there was an accident ot Clear Lake Power Plant. The fatality was an employee of one of Calpine's subcontractors at the Clear Lake Power Plant," PR Director for the Houston headquaters of Calpine Meg Laidlaw says. "An expansion joint that carries water ruptured during startup of a portion of the plant. The person who was harmed was in the immediate vicinity. Link to Article
Londoner Accused of Airline Bomb Threat (Update to Airline bomb threat to 2 Planes in Philadelphia this week)
3:32am (UK) A Londoner made a bomb threat against two American Airlines flights to allow another traveller time to retrieve her passport, the FBI said today.
Ilyas Savas, 33, and Hatice Ceylan, 18, were charged with offences including conspiracy, said Jeffrey Lampinki, special agent in charge for the FBI’s Philadelphia office.
The suspects had been due to fly from Philadelphia to Boston on Wednesday and then to London, but Ceylan forgot her passport, the FBI said.
Savas allegedly called in the bomb threat to a hotel on Wednesday morning to give Ceylan time to get the document, the FBI said. It was not clear why the call wasn’t made directly to the airline.
Nineteen passengers were evacuated from the Philadelphia-Boston flight and were rescreened while the plane was searched. Nothing was found, but the flight was cancelled anyway. The Boston-London flight was also searched before it was allowed to take off with 159 passengers, officials said.
It was not immediately clear if either defendant had a lawyer. Ceylan is from Edgewater Park, New Jersey. Savas lives in London, authorities say. Link to Article
Bump!