Grant Dalton, managing director of Emirates Team New Zealand
Grant Dalton, managing director of Emirates Team New Zealand
KEY POINTS:
A suspected member of the Basque separatist group Eta arrested in Spain was planning an attack on the America's Cup, Spanish media have reported.
Iker Aguirre Bernadal, 26, was travelling on a train between Perpignan, in France, and Barcelona when he was taken into custody.
Spanish mediasaid he was carrying bomb-making plans, 3,000 euros and documents with false identities.
They quoted police sources as saying Bernadal had been sent to plan an attack on the yachting competition.
The terror scare comes as Emirates Team NZ prepares to head over to Spain for the competition.
Managing director Grant Dalton said the information was speculative at the moment, with the syndicate having heard nothing official from authorities.
But he said if the unthinkable should happen he was confident the team was prepared.
"We became aware of this threat from ETA just over the last day or two, but it's always been on our mind. They're probably not after us, they're after the big teams but we have a fairly stringent crisis plan in place."
Dalton said Spanish security forces would be all over the event because it was such an obvious target.
"We have faith in the Spanish authorities' security measures. We expect America's Cup management will brief the team on this incident if necessary."
The challengers' series for the Louis Vuitton Cup runs until June.
The cup match itself, between the successful challenger and Swiss defender Alinghi, is scheduled for June 23 to July 7.
Eta has fought an armed struggle aimed at independence for the Basque region - straddling France and Spain - since the 1960s.
More than 800 people have been killed during the conflict. The group most recently claimed responsibility for a bomb attack at Madrid's aiport that left two men dead.
