HIGHWAY BOMB CHAOS
POLICE will target several suspects they believe could have created and left a homemade bomb on the side of the Bruce Highway at Edmonton.
The explosive was buried and detonated at 6.45pm yesterday after an emergency situation was declared.
After severe congestion south of Cairns, the highway reopened before 8pm.
Senior Sergeant James Coate said it was not a terrorist-related incident, but he said police had not ruled out anybody.
“At this stage it is only early in the investigation. We do have a number of persons in the community who we may suspect,” he said.
“What these people have done is make a very volatile substance ... It is more than likely to be somebody who is trying to make something go bang for a bit of fun. It is a dangerous and silly thing to do. You will lose more than your finger – you will lose your own life.”
A road worker called police about 11.45am after he stumbled upon the suspiciouslywrapped package and noticed a wick.
Officers from the Explosive Ordnance Response Team attended the site and X-rayed the item, confirming it to be consistent with an explosive device.
“We can tell by the way it was wrapped up and packaged, it wasn’t commercial, it was homemade, it wasn’t something that would ordinarily be used for any other purpose,” he said.
Both lanes of the Bruce Highway were closed from Foster Road to Mill Road causing a traffic jam that stretched kilometres.
Students from Bentley Park State College, on the opposite side of the highway, were told to text their parents and tell them to avoid using the highway.
Sen Sgt Coate said it could have caused damage to passing traffic.
“Whether that was the intent – I can only guess that,” he said. “I can say it is something you wouldn’t ordinarily see on the side of the road. It stands out, it was quite obvious.”