A man has been arrested after a ‘potential hazardous materials incident’ at London’s Heathrow Airport on Monday saw 20 people injured.
The man, aged 57, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm (CS spray) and causing a public nuisance on Tuesday, 9 September.
The Met Police said he remains in police custody at this time, and that the incident is not being treated as terrorism related.
Chaos broke out at Heathrow Terminal 4 shortly before 5pm on Monday, which emergency services later attributed to ‘mass hysteria’.
Some 21 people reported being injured during the incident, but only one required hospital treatment.
The terminal was shut for around three hours, causing delays for thousands of passengers.
Specialist officers, as well as fire crews and paramedics, rushed to the scene and a thorough search of the area was conducted.
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: ‘On Monday, 8 September at 16:56hrs police were called to a potential hazardous materials incident at Heathrow Airport, Terminal Four.
‘Specialist officers attended the scene alongside the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service and conducted a thorough search of the area.
‘Following the search, Met officers located a cannister of what is believed to be CS spray. It is thought that this substance caused a reaction to those within the airport.
‘Around 20 people reported to paramedics after the (believed) CS spray caused irritation. It has been confirmed that the spray did not cause any life-changing/threatening injuries.’
During the closure of Terminal 4, crowds amassed outside after the premises was evacuated and were joined by would-be travellers whose flights were delayed or cancelled.
Staff were seen passing out bottles of water to those stranded outside before the terminal was declared safe to reopen shortly after 8pm.
Emergency service personnel were pictured putting on white protective suits as a precaution at the scene.
A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said on Monday: ‘Emergency services have confirmed Terminal 4 is safe to reopen and we are doing everything we can to ensure all flights depart as planned today.
‘We are very sorry for the disruption caused, the safety and security of our passengers and colleagues is our number one priority.
‘We encourage passengers to check with their airline for the latest information about their flight this evening and our colleagues will be on hand into the night to assist.’
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
