The road had been shut by armed police during the morning rush hour after the Megabus coach, which was travelling from Preston to London Victoria, pulled over on the hard shoulder of its own accord following allegations made against a person on board.
Local reports suggested the passenger was seen pouring a liquid into a container which then began smoking.
However, despite sending specialist officers on board and readying fire and ambulance crews at the scene, Staffordshire police have now said the incident it effectively at an end.
According to reports this was later said to be a 'health improvement aid for smokers' which gave off vapour leading to the security alert.
The coach has also now been moved away from the scene of the evacuation for further routine tests.
'Following an initial assessment we can confirm that no-one has been injured and there is no danger to passengers at the scene or other travellers on the motorway,' the police said.
'We are not treating this as a counter-terrorism incident at this time.'
The authorities also said that the motorway was likely to be re-opened shortly, and no arrests have been made.
Police were called to the scene at 8.20am as the coach headed south on the motorway.
Armed counter-terrorism police had surrounded the vehicle and evacuated the 48 passengers on board, after it stopped on the hard shoulder between junctions T3 and T4 at Weeford Park Plaza near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
A forensic officer in a decontamination suit was also seen entering the vehicle following the evacuation, while army bomb disposal vehicles also attended the scene.
The bus company said at the time they had been 'assisting police with their inquiries into an allegation made against a passenger who was travelling on board one of our services'.
According to reports, all the passengers were led off the bus and taken to the opposite carriageway where they were made to sit in a cordon.
The incident occurred shortly after six people were arrested in London this morning as part of an ongoing counter-terrorism operation, leading to fears the two incidents could be linked.
Two men and a woman were detained in Ealing, while three men were arrested at addresses in Newham in east London.
Police said they were searching properties and a business premises in east, north and west London, but have stressed the arrests are not linked to the Olympics or Paralympics.
The two events were entirely unrelated, police have since stressed.
PICTURES: See photos from the incident on the M6 Toll motorway
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.