A bomb squad member leans over a rubbish bin as he checks a make-up box - pictured inset after it was blown up. Picture / Bradley Ambrose
A bomb squad member leans over a rubbish bin as he checks a make-up box - pictured inset after it was blown up. Picture / Bradley Ambrose
KEY POINTS:
An unattended box of make-up today brought the bomb squad out to downtown Auckland.
The large silver box, found unattended on a park bench in Shortland St, was blown up by the Defence Force Bomb Squad at 1.11pm, shortly after some people arrived saying it was their make-upbox.
Later examinations showed the contents of the container were no risk.
Police cordoned off Shortland St, which connects to Queen St, after a passerby spotted the silver box at 11.28am.
Emergency services were on standby and occupants of a carpark building, NZ Post Shop and apartment building nearby were evacuated, and traffic in the busy area was held up.
Senior Sergeant Donovan Clark of Auckland Police said it was hard to imagine why anyone would leave a box unattended on a public bench seat for two hours.
"The owners' absentmindedness has caused a huge amount of disruption to motorists, pedestrians, staff in local businesses and residents of a nearby apartment block, not to mention the demands this placed on emergency services," Mr Clark said.
"People who leave their belongings lying around in public places or where they raise concerns about why something is where it is, need to have a good look at themselves in terms of their responsibilities to public safety."
Mr Clark said the people who brought the unattended container to the Police's attention did the right thing.
"In all such cases, we have to take matters seriously until we can determine the nature of the situation we're dealing with."
