Delays at Miami airport as fuel tanks catch fire

(Reuters): A false bomb scare and a fuel tank fire disrupted operations at Miami International Airport on Thursday and dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed. Planes were landing and taking off on Thursday, though fire-fighters were still investigating the blaze that broke out about 11 p.m. local time Wednesday at a fuel tank farm on the airport perimeter."The fire was extinguished by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue at 1:20 a.m.," fire spokeswoman Cristina Armand said. The fire was not near the runways or the terminal but the fire reduced the available fuel supply, disrupting operations. Hours after the fire was extinguished, an explosives-sniffing dog gave the alert to a suspicious package in a luggage carousel area, Miami-Dade Police Detective Ida Fina-Milian said.

Police evacuated the area while a bomb squad checked out the package. "It was nothing," Fina-Milian said. "The situation was resolved and everything is back open again."

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