Humphrey Terminal evacuated at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport

Flights were interrupted and travelers evacuated Friday morning from the Humphrey Terminal at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after authorities were alerted to a suspicious package.

Fears it might be dangerous led authorities to summon the Bloomington Police bomb squad. Officers were called at 6 a.m. and found a propane tank in a box, with pipes sticking out of the box, left near a store in the ticketing lobby.

Police tracked down a woman who had tried to check the box as luggage at the Southwest Airlines counter. When Southwest agents refused, she left the box behind, went through security and boarded a plane, airport spokesman Pat Hogan said

In most cases, a person would take a package back to their vehicle if they were unable to take it on a plane, said Hogan. Instead, she abandoned the package in the ticketing lobby.

Authorities were still trying to determine why the woman brought the fuel tank to the airport and tried to get on a plane with it. The box also contained a small stove. Police took the woman off her flight for questioning.

Normal operations at the airport resumed shortly after 8 a.m., although the incident delayed flights and prompted a traffic backup in the area. The incident remains under investigation.

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