Chaos Erupts At Airport After Family Accidentally Pack Unexploded Bomb In Luggage

Passengers at an airport in Israel were sent running in fear after a family tried to board their flight home with an unexploded artillery shell.

It's not at all uncommon to want to pick up a few souvenirs while on holiday to remember your trip, but most people stick to shop-bought items like t-shirts and magnets, or perhaps something more simple like a shell from the beach.

They're typically fun and whimsical items, but the family involved in this particular mishap were obviously keen to bring back a more unique talking point from their trip to the Golan Heights.

See the chaos caused by the incident below:

The family, who have not been named but who are said to be American, arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport on 28 April ready to return home after visiting the Israeli-administered Golan Heights region.

Anyone who's ever been stopped at security for carrying some forgotten nail scissors or a loose tube of lip balm will know that there's not much that gets past the luggage scanners at airports, but security workers would have probably been hard pressed to miss the artillery shell that the family had packed into their baggage.

One of the children had found the rusty shell piece earlier in their trip, the Israeli Airports Authority explained, so the family decided to take it home with them.

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"When they arrived to check their luggage, they showed the piece of the shell to security. Since it was a piece of a shell, the evacuation of the area was announced," the Airports Authority said.

Passengers at the airport were urged to evacuate the area 'slowly', but in an 'every man for himself' kind of moment panic swiftly overtook passengers and chaos broke out in the terminal, with footage from the scene showing travellers running around the area, lying down on the floor and hiding under tables in the departure area.

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One 32-year-old Israeli man who was at the airport at the time had to be taken to hospital for treatment after he climbed onto a baggage conveyor belt amid the panic and fell down.

Speaking to local media, he recalled: "There was a lot of shouting. I just felt that I had to run for my life."

Passengers later returned to the terminal after security staff determined there was no danger, and the American family were able to board their flight as planned following a brief investigation. Their souvenir, however, had to stay behind.

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