DANGER CHEMICALS BLOWS UP
hundreds are evacuated as ‘unstable’ material is destroyed by bomb squad
THIS is the moment ‘unstable’ chemicals found in a university freezer were blown up by the bomb squad on a playing field.
Officers from the Royal Logistic Corps Bomb Disposal unit buried the chemicals on Hough End playing fields, in Chorlton, before carrying out a controlled explosion.
The chemicals, described as ‘unstable,’ were found at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, on Princess Street in Manchester city centre, at around 2.15pm yesterday.
Hundreds of staff and students were evacuated from University of Manchester buildings - and other nearby sites, including a hotel - following the discovery at one of the Institute’s laboratories. Some people were seen standing in the street in their dressing gowns.
The ‘hazardous legacy chemicals’ are understood to have been stored in the lab for some time, having been used in previous work and not disposed of.
The university and police are yet to confirm what the chemicals were thought to have been.
Emails to staff and students from the university said the chemicals would ‘need to be disposed of by experts’ shortly after they were found.
“Please be assured, there is no immediate danger, however, as a precautionary measure, we have shut the lab area,” bosses added.
A number of city centre roads were closed – including Princess Street, Sackville Street and Charles Street – and a large cordon was put in place.
The nearby George Begg Building and the Pendulum Hotel were also evacuated while the chemicals were ‘assessed.’ After several hours, a bomb disposal van arrived.
Specialist teams are understood to have removed the chemicals from the lab in secure containers after they were tested. They were then driven the three-and-a-half mile trip out of the city centre to Hough End playing fields, off Princess Parkway.
Bystanders looked on as bomb disposal experts buried the chemicals before destroying them in a controlled explosion.
A spokeman for GMP confirmed yesterday evening: “The EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) completed a controlled explosion on chemical items.”
The cordon around the Institute of Biotechnology was lifted at around 7pm, with the explosion taking place shortly afterwards. As well as police, four hazardous response teams (HART) from the ambulance service and the fire service’s environmental protection unit were scrambled to the scene. A police spokesman stressed that the incident was not terror-related. No one is understood to have been hurt. Biotechnology lab bosses