Sept. 25, 2004 — After a bomb threat closed the Henry E. Rohlsen airport for almost seven hours Saturday, the St. Croix airport is again open for business. The early morning bomb scare forced the closure of the airport requiring the evacuation of all passengers, airport staff and surrounding businesses. All flights to and from the airport were canceled.
The airport was "declared safe and officially opened" at around 4 p.m. according to a V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency press release.
The bomb threat, received at the airport at 7:20 a.m., set in motion a coordinated response effort among federal and local officials. According to VITEMA, a command post of first responders was set up at the air cargo area inside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building. A sweep of the airport and surrounding area was conducted through the Joint Terrorism Task Force made up of the FBI; V.I. Police Department; Port Authority Police; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Transportation Safety Authority; Department of Planning and National Resources; LEPC and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the task force at 776-9440.
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