Stands at Old Trafford dramatically evacuated after 'code red' alert because of 'incredibly lifelike explosive device'
Mobile phone attached to wiring said to have been discovered in toilets during Manchester United's final-day clash
Match was postponed for 45 minutes but staff later abandoned game altogether, sending away thousands of fans
Police and sniffer dogs deployed to ground, which has capacity for 76,000, and a controlled explosion carried out
Sportsmail understands the scare was caused by a dummy device left in a toilet by mistake after a training exercise
Greater Manchester Police assistant chief constable John O'Hare later confirmed to Sportsmail's
Manchester United had to abandon Sunday’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth because a dummy bomb was left in the stadium by mistake after a training exercise.
Old Trafford was evacuated after a mobile phone was found strapped to piping. The match, which was being broadcast on Sky Sports, was postponed before a bomb disposal unit carried out a controlled explosion.
The results of the explosion showed the device was actually a mock-up, described by police as ‘incredibly lifelike’.
In what appears to be a staggering blunder, the ‘bomb’ was left at the stadium in error by an external training company in the days leading up to the game. A training exercise was held at the venue and the device, designed to look authentic, was not returned at its conclusion.
The match will be replayed at 8pm on Tuesday night and will be shown live on Sky Sports.
One security official, who saw the device, said: ‘It certainly did not look like something you would want to mess with.’
A bomb disposal vehicle arrives at Old Trafford during the evacuation of the 76,000-seater stadium ahead of the Premier League final-day clash between Manchester United and Bournemouth following the discovery of an 'incredibly lifelike explosive device'
Bomb experts were sent to the Manchester stadium to investigate what was later found to be a dummy explosive device
The Sky Sports team which was working inside the ground were also told to evacuate and had to broadcast some of the programme outside. The pundits are seen above reporting from outside Old Trafford while the bomb disposal van arrives at the 76,000-seater stadium
GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE CONFIRM to Sportsmail
'I am grateful to the Manchester United and Bournemouth supporters for their support and assistance today.
'Following today’s controlled explosion, we have since found out that the item was a training device which had accidentally been left by a private company following a training exercise involving explosive search dogs.
'Whilst this item did not turn out to be a viable explosive, on appearance this device was as real as could be, and the decision to evacuate the stadium was the right thing to do, until we could be sure that people were not at risk.
'Everyone remained calm, followed instructions, and worked with officers and stewards to ensure that a safe evacuation was quickly completed. Those present today were a credit to the football family and their actions should be recognised.
'I would also like to thank all those involved in the operation today for such a professional response, which includes police officers, stewards, MUFC staff, media representatives and commentators and the Bomb Disposal Team.'
Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable John O'Hare
The Premier League felt abandoning the fixture had been the right course of action after discussions with both clubs and the police.
‘When it comes to matters of security it is obviously right that Manchester United and the Premier League place the safety of supporters and employees foremost,’ the League said in a statement.
‘It is always the last resort to abandon one of our fixtures and while we apologise for the inconvenience caused to fans we are sure, in the circumstances, they will appreciate the need to do so.’
Source dailymail.
No comments:
Post a Comment