Dry ice bomb explodes at LAX, leaving fliers unnerved

A dry ice bomb that exploded in a men’s restroom Sunday evening at Los Angeles International Airport was unnerving for some passengers who learned of the incident hours before they had to catch their flights.

The explosion, which occurred in a part of Terminal 2 that is accessible only to airport employees, did not cause any damage, and no injuries were reported, authorities said.

But passenger Feliciano Jiron told CBS-Los Angeles he was concerned that a dry ice bomb was able to be dispatched given all the modern security measures.

“Given the times we live in, it’s a bit interesting that something like this would happen, even with all the security and all the efforts that people are putting forward,” he said as he and his family arrived to catch a flight to New Mexico.

Los Angeles police were questioning LAX employees Monday after the FBI handed over the investigation.

The incident occurred at about 7 p.m. when officials said an airport employee heard an explosion in the men’s room and went to investigate. There, he discovered a 20-ounce plastic bottle that had contained the dry ice.

After the explosion, operations were suspended in the terminal, and flights were delayed until about 8:45 p.m. as the LAPD bomb squad responded. Police estimated about four flights were affected.

Operations resumed afterward and no flights were reported as being delayed Monday because of the incident, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

There were no threats associated with the dry ice bomb, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

In May, a dry ice bomb at Disneyland temporarily shut down Toontown. No one was injured in that explosion.

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Joseph.serna@latimes.com

Twitter: @josephserna