by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:15 AM ET, Fri November 30, 2018
A portion of a Boston airport was closed last week after a suitcase was discovered with smoke billowing out of it due to an e-cigarette igniting inside the bag.
According to Boston.com, Transportation Security Administration officers working at Boston Logan International Airport on November 24 were checking bags at a screening area when one piece of luggage was seen smoking.
TSA agents quickly evacuated travelers from the area and local authorities were called to the scene, including the Massachusetts Port Fire & Rescue, Massachusetts State Police and Explosives Ordinance Detection team.
When emergency personnel arrived on the scene, they quickly discovered the smoke was not coming from an explosive device, but instead a lithium battery in an e-cigarette that ignited.
Officials tracked down the man who owned the suitcase and delayed his flight to Kansas City International Airport until police figured out what happened.
"The incident took place during the record-setting Thanksgiving travel period, when TSA at Boston Logan International Airport screened 56,686 passengers plus their checked and carry-on bags," a TSA spokesperson said. "TSA is focused on ensuring that nothing catastrophic occurs on an airplane, and so of course a suitcase that has smoke emitting from it is definitely suspicious."
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