Hotel evacuated after sticks of dynamite found in room

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? A hotel that’s part of the Grand Casino in Tunica was evacuated Friday for nearly an hour after three sticks of dynamite were found in a room.

The dynamite? which was without fuses or blasting caps? was discovered in a vacant room by workers on the third floor of the Veranda Hotel, said Larry Liddell, a spokesman for Tunica County.

Even though the dynamite posed no immediate danger, the sheriff’s department evacuated the hotel as a precaution, Liddell said.

Authorities did not immediately know how long the dynamite had been in the room or when it was last occupied. The dynamite was turned over to the Memphis bomb squad, Liddell said.

Bomb-sniffing dogs were used to search the hotel and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating the incident, Liddell said.

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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.commercialappeal.com