For second time in two days, dry ice explosion reported at Los Angeles airport

From Diahann Reyes, CNN

October 15, 2013 — Updated 1337 GMT (2137 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Los Angeles (CNN) — For the second time in two days, dry ice placed in a container has exploded at Los Angeles International Airport.

The explosion happened just before 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Tom Bradley International Terminal, airport police said.

CNN affiliate KCAL said the blast took place in an employee restroom, inaccessible to nonemployees.

Three plastic bottles containing dry ice were found, but only one had exploded, Los Angeles police Detective Gus Villanueva told the affiliate.

Expert: Dry ice blasts no prank

Police and bomb experts cleared the scene by about 9:45 p.m., KCAL reported. There were no injuries, and no flights were delayed.

“The investigation is in its infancy,” Villanueva said. He added that there’s “no nexus to terrorism at this point.” The FBI was called in.

On Sunday, dry ice in a plastic bottle exploded in an employee restroom at the airport, causing a brief shutdown of Terminal 2, the FBI said. No injuries were reported, and Terminal 2 resumed operations after a brief evacuation.

Arne Ruhnau