Live missile found inside container at Florida Airport, authorities rush to investigate

Florida's Lakeland Linder International Airport was in for a shock when airport personnel found a live missile inside a shipping container on Friday. The massive guided missile was found with pieces of a plane that belonged to a company called Draken International which is an American Space and Defence company.

According to Gene Conrad, director of Lakeland Linder Airport, the unarmed missile was found on an incoming shipment around 2 p.m. The airport was immediately evacuated after the live missile was found.

Emergency responders, including members of the Lakeland Fire Department, the local branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team from nearby MacDill Air Force Base, were alerted and called to the scene to investigate. The civilians at the airport were evacuated and the airport was shut down for hours after the discovery of the massive ammunition.

Watch photos below:

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Live but unarmed

Upon inspection, it was determined that although the missile was live it was unarmed at the time of discovery. The missile has now been safely transported to MacDill Air Force Base storage facility where it will stay until it can be disposed of properly.

 Draken International whose plane pieces were found with the missile has issued a statement to local media in this regard.

"Draken International, in the process of evaluating arriving shipments, discovered something questionable and potentially explosive. Adhering to the explosive safety rule of exposing the minimum amount of people for the minimum amount of time to a potential explosive hazard the decision was made to evacuate the facility and its surrounding neighbors and contact the appropriate authorities. Draken takes its roll in the community seriously and always wants to ensure it performs safe and reliable operations," Draken International said in its statement according to Florida's local media.

Conrad has told Tampa Bay Times that Draken International is a tenant of the airport and has been processing its shipments for about nine years, however, the recent incident has proven to be the first one.

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