Blazing Car Crashes into Glasgow Airport - Breaking News!
there was just a witness on news 24 saying that he heard the crash, looked round and saw the guy in the passenger seat with a petrol bomb, ready to throw it, then legged it away as people around him were shouting 'Terrorists!'. Meanwhile the driver of the car had reversed back and taken another go at crashing through the door...
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major.tom
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I'm not saying this was what happened (since the reports of the driver attempting to crash through the doors dispel that notion for the most part) but engine fires are not that uncommon. I've seen several in my time. In fact, I expect the likelihood of a car fire starting at or near the gas tank to be almost nil -- all the electrical and hot bits are near the engine.Mandy wrote:I thought the fuel tanks in a car is in the rear .. but the back doesn't seem to be on fire.
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SpursFan1902
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'There was a man on fire. It was terrifying'
With a screech of tyres and burning petrol, the Jeep headed for Terminal 1 of Glasgow Airport - a third attempt to create terror mayhem in Britain in under 36 hours. Only luck saved lives
David Smith, Mark Townsend and Jo Revill
Sunday July 1, 2007
The Observer
It was the first full day of school holidays in Scotland. James Edgar was with his young daughter, trying to book a holiday, when commotion and terror took hold. 'People ran past me,' he said. 'I thought it was because they were late but then I saw the panic in their eyes. I came outside and the fire had started. People were trying to put it out with extinguishers, but it was having no effect. There were some taxi drivers telling everyone to get back in case there was a bomb in the car. It was a frightening experience.'
The source of panic was a botched terrorist attack at Glasgow airport at about 3.15pm yesterday. A Jeep Cherokee, containing two men of Asian appearance, tried to smash through the glass doors of the crowded terminal one building but became stuck outside. Witnesses said the driver waved a plastic canister which was lit at the top like a Molotov cocktail. Simon Howard said the man was trying to throw it, adding: 'I grabbed my daughter and I screamed to my wife: "Run!"'
The man then appeared to pour gasoline over himself and the car and set both ablaze in a fireball, causing a stampede as people cried out and fled the building. The burning man fought with police and, according to one account, was 'throwing punches and shouting "Allah! Allah"!' A member of the public, Stephen Clarkson, told how he helped police finally detained him. 'I managed to knock the fellow to the ground,' he said. 'By this time there were four policemen who got on top of him and restrained him. His clothes had partially burned from his body. His hair was on fire. His whole body was on fire.'
A fire extinguisher was used to douse the flames. The second man apparently tried to enter the terminal building but was wrestled to the ground by police and members of the public. Both men were arrested and led away in handcuffs, with the badly burned man taken to hospital - the only person injured. Later it emerged a suspect device was found on him, forcing the evacuation of the hospital.
The attack was seemingly inept but it wreaked huge disruption for weekend travellers. Some 35,000 passengers were expected to pass through Glasgow Airport, Scotland's biggest, during the course of yesterday but it was immediately closed and all flights were suspended. Some passengers were left stranded airside, including those on planes unable to disembark. There was a knock-on effect on flights around the country and several airports moved to step up security.
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must have been a pretty terrifying experience for anyone there...
With a screech of tyres and burning petrol, the Jeep headed for Terminal 1 of Glasgow Airport - a third attempt to create terror mayhem in Britain in under 36 hours. Only luck saved lives
David Smith, Mark Townsend and Jo Revill
Sunday July 1, 2007
The Observer
It was the first full day of school holidays in Scotland. James Edgar was with his young daughter, trying to book a holiday, when commotion and terror took hold. 'People ran past me,' he said. 'I thought it was because they were late but then I saw the panic in their eyes. I came outside and the fire had started. People were trying to put it out with extinguishers, but it was having no effect. There were some taxi drivers telling everyone to get back in case there was a bomb in the car. It was a frightening experience.'
The source of panic was a botched terrorist attack at Glasgow airport at about 3.15pm yesterday. A Jeep Cherokee, containing two men of Asian appearance, tried to smash through the glass doors of the crowded terminal one building but became stuck outside. Witnesses said the driver waved a plastic canister which was lit at the top like a Molotov cocktail. Simon Howard said the man was trying to throw it, adding: 'I grabbed my daughter and I screamed to my wife: "Run!"'
The man then appeared to pour gasoline over himself and the car and set both ablaze in a fireball, causing a stampede as people cried out and fled the building. The burning man fought with police and, according to one account, was 'throwing punches and shouting "Allah! Allah"!' A member of the public, Stephen Clarkson, told how he helped police finally detained him. 'I managed to knock the fellow to the ground,' he said. 'By this time there were four policemen who got on top of him and restrained him. His clothes had partially burned from his body. His hair was on fire. His whole body was on fire.'
A fire extinguisher was used to douse the flames. The second man apparently tried to enter the terminal building but was wrestled to the ground by police and members of the public. Both men were arrested and led away in handcuffs, with the badly burned man taken to hospital - the only person injured. Later it emerged a suspect device was found on him, forcing the evacuation of the hospital.
The attack was seemingly inept but it wreaked huge disruption for weekend travellers. Some 35,000 passengers were expected to pass through Glasgow Airport, Scotland's biggest, during the course of yesterday but it was immediately closed and all flights were suspended. Some passengers were left stranded airside, including those on planes unable to disembark. There was a knock-on effect on flights around the country and several airports moved to step up security.
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must have been a pretty terrifying experience for anyone there...
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eefanincan
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pirtybirdy
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11antoniacourt
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The episodes of the last couple of days involving cars with gas cannisters is so weird. None of them seemed to involve martyrdom. I read the BBC page from the original post here and wateched the videos. So, in Glasgow, two guys drive up an airport terminal and are trying to do as much damage as they can using fire and nails. This would be too hard for me. The Driver's job is to drive the vehicle into the building, while the passenger has to light the cannisters. I imagine there's a lot of gasoline spilling all over the inside of the Jeep while the passenger is grabbing, lighting and throwing the molotov cocktails. In one video the driver is described as spinning the tires and, after first crashing the Jeep, then I guess puts the Jeep in reverse and makes another attempt at crashing through a set of doors. And then, they try to flee. And get arrested. This is an interesting mixture of startling and stupid.
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pirtybirdy
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I haven't been watching the news on this, and quite frankly, most news stations give their opinion or speculation on what happened, but from what you all are saying, it sounds like it's either a local thing, or individuals doing something on their own. It doesn't appear to be a well planned out operation. I'm just glad mass amounts of people weren't killed. On a whole other note/subject: I need to change my signature. It's way too big and driving me nuts..lol!
It's rather large!pirtybirdy wrote:I haven't been watching the news on this, and quite frankly, most news stations give their opinion or speculation on what happened, but from what you all are saying, it sounds like it's either a local thing, or individuals doing something on their own. It doesn't appear to be a well planned out operation. I'm just glad mass amounts of people weren't killed. On a whole other note/subject: I need to change my signature. It's way too big and driving me nuts..lol!
You are right though on all your other observations as well
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SpursFan1902
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