Forgotten suitcase sparks Main Street bomb scare

The southern end of Main Street was sealed off Sunday evening for about an hour while the Royal Gibraltar Regiment’s bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion on a small suitcase that had been left by mistake next to the perimeter wall of the The Convent.

A spokesman for the Royal Gibraltar Police confirmed that the bag belonged to a driver who had loaded his vehicle in the area but drove off and inadvertently left the suitcase behind, sparking a security alert.

Police were alerted at around 19.45 about the presence of the bag and, given the location on the perimeter wall of the Governor’s residence, immediately treated it as a potential improvised explosive device.

The area was sealed off and the regiment’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal squad was sent to the scene.

After an initial inspection, military personnel deployed a remotely operated vehicle to carry out a controlled explosion.

There was nothing suspicious inside the bag, which was destroyed by the controlled blast.

Around that time the owner of the suitcase, believed to be a visitor to Gibraltar, contacted police to tell them about his forgotten bag.