A Swiss Air plane has been cordoned off at Barcelona airport after an alleged radioactive spill from a suitcase in the plane’s hold.
Air emergency teams and radiology specialists were called to Terminal 1 of El Prat airport, parts of which have since been closed due to the reported spill, according to local media reports.
All 134 passengers and five crew members traveling on the Swiss Air flight from Zurich to Barcelona were reportedly forced to stay on the plane before being isolated in a room at the airport.
Meanwhile, five workers who were working at the warehouse at the time the suspected spill was discovered were taken to hospital as a precaution.
The spokesperson for the Generalitat, Patricia Plaja, has stated that her organization has no evidence that there are “seriously affected people”, according to local media. 20 minutes.
A Swiss Air plane has been cordoned off at Barcelona airport after an alleged radioactive spill from a suitcase (file image)
Firefighters are working the incident with 13 teams to ensure the area is safe for the public.
The spill was found this morning at 10:20 local time (9:48 UK time) and reportedly came from a suitcase containing medical supplies.
Since the suitcase was already on the plane when the alleged radioactive spill was discovered, the passengers were not allowed to disembark the plane.
Radiology experts have yet to assess the risk related to the suitcase and the suspected spill. The company Aena, which manages the El Prat airport, explained to local media that the controls were part of its protocol.
He added that the incident was “minor” and that there is no damage to the airport’s infrastructure after the reported spill, which was of “low intensity,” according to the risk assessment.
A regional emergency response coordination center said: “The contingency plan for radiological emergencies was activated this morning due to a radioactive source inside an aircraft.”
The spill was found this morning at 10.20am local time (9.48am UK time) and reportedly came from a suitcase containing medical equipment (pictured: archive image from El Prat Airport).
Shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time (12:30 p.m. British time) Aena announced that the alert had been deactivated without incident after verifying that there was ‘no risk’. The country reports.
Passengers and crew were finally able to leave isolation after three hours in the early afternoon.
Aena stated that the rest of the flights and airport operations have not been affected.
A spokesperson for Swiss International Airlines said: “We can confirm that during the unloading of the cargo compartment of flight LX1952 in Barcelona, ground staff discovered that a box containing medical supplies had moisture stains.
‘The flight was operated by an Air Baltic Airbus A220 with 134 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane has already been released and is on its way to Zurich. Local authorities are carrying out further investigations.’