Spread the love

Two separate alarming events, one of the them fatal, jolted air and cruise travellers in Australia over the weekend.  

Brisbane Airport was placed in lockdown – its International Departure Terminal was evacuated, flights grounded and trains halted – as specialist police hunted for a man and then shot him following an incident on Saturday evening.

Police headed to the international terminal following reports of a man in the food court, allegedly armed with a knife and threatening a woman. There were reports of shots. Video shows agitated travellers clearly very worried about the situation.

Police later characterised the incident as domestic-violence-related rather than terror-related.

They said they negotiated with an Australian man of Middle Eastern origin before firing “beanbag rounds” – flexible baton rounds fired as shotgun shells and used for non-lethal apprehension of suspects.

Police decided to evacuate the airport after finding what they believed to be a suspicious device.

A 50-year-old Surfers Paradise man was taken to the Brisbane watch house, where he was charged with staging a bomb hoax, making a false statement, assault, contravening a domestic violence order, stalking and stealing.

He is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court today.

No injuries to police or the public were reported in Saturday’s incident.

IN SYDNEY MEANWHILE, another occurrence brought police, fire trucks and an ambulance rushing to White Bay Cruise Terminal. A woman in her thirties was found passed out in a toilet aboard All Occasion Cruises’ Lady Rose charter boat.

Tragically, attempts by four paramedics from NSW Ambulance failed to resuscitate the woman and she died at the scene.

Seven News reported that about 100 passengers were aboard the luxury party boat celebrating a birthday.

Police sources said other passengers aboard noticed a strange smell. The Police HAZMAT team conducted tests but found no suspicious substances.

Several passengers were treated at the scene for shock and one of them, a woman, was later taken to hospital, ABC News reported.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

Written by Peter Needham