Third bomb at airport

Press, 19 May 1981, Page 8

Third bomb at airport

NZPA-Reuter New York The police found a third bomb yesterday and spent five hours searching for a fourth in the Pan American World Airways terminal at Kennedy International Airport, one day after an explosion killed an airport employee. A telephone caller who identified himself as a spokesman of the Puerto Rican Armed Resistance Movement claimed credit for all three bombs, the police said. He gave “rather factual” details of the bombs’ construction and locations, said Lieutenant Richard Richards. The group champions the cause of Puerto Rican independence. There was no blast yesterday, but the terminal was closed after a cleaning man

found an explosive device in a women’s toilet. Departures resumed five hours later. Flights to Tokyo, Miami, Tampa and San Francisco were delayed, Pan Am said. Arriving flights were diverted to other terminals. The police received several more threats later in the day, which they said did not warrant closing the terminal. No- fourth bomb was found. "It’s normal to get calls from all the kooks after a bombing like this,” said Lieutenant Edwin Youngblood. “All the airlines have been warned to be extra vigilant, but that’s about as good as you can do. You can’t screen people coming into the airport itself. Anyone can get access to it,” he said.