Suspicious containers force state fairgrounds evacuation

Suspicious containers force state fairgrounds evacuation

ALBUQUERQUE -- State police on Saturday evacuated the state fairgrounds in the center of Albuquerque after two containers labeled radioactive were found underneath a vehicle.

A New Mexico National Guard civil support team was called in to remove the material.

Lt. Juan Martinez, a spokesman for the state police, said the evacuations were ordered after a man approached officers about 3:15 p.m. to say he'd spotted two containers under a car near the arts and crafts building on the grounds. "It's just precautionary," Martinez said.

A Geiger counter registered a low level of radioactivity from the containers, Martinez said. "You probably pass radioactivity like that on a daily basis and don't know when it happens," he said.

One container looked like a pipe bomb, while the other was a pink can labeled cobalt 57. Nothing indicated where the containers came from, he said.
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