A TERROR threat swept through Puerto Banus last night after a man shouted that he had a bomb and suddenly leaped into the water clutching an apparent grenade in his hand.
Terrified diners leapt from their seats in the upmarket resort at around 9.30pm on Sunday evening to see the bizarre sight of a man’s head bobbing in the marina.
Witnesses told The Olive Press the man had shouted that he had a bomb in his bag and ‘cried ‘Allahu Akbar’ before jumping into the water’.
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A restaurant boss, who asked not to be named, told this newspaper: “The man was sitting in Leone [a restaurant] and suddenly jumped up and made these threats.”
“As everyone was running away, he then ran and dived into the water”.
The source, who has worked in the port for a decade, said a number of the Saudi royal family were eating in nearby restaurants and on their yacht anchored in the port.
It is not known if the man, who had been acting oddly, knew they were aboard the Lady Haya, which has been anchored in Banus for the last week.
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In a series of videos the restaurateur shared with the Olive Press, it is clear most diners and pedestrians are unclear of what was happening.
One, however, reader Nicolai Bjergsted, 26, revealed he had seen the man close up and was ‘very frightened’.
The Dane, who was having dinner with his girlfriend, Mikala Jensen, 25, in the port said: “Everybody just ran and screamed.”
“Then I saw the man holding a hand grenade, in his left hand I think. With the right hand he was pointing at the sky and saying Muslim prayers.
“You could see the fear in everybody’s eyes”, he continued. “Everybody just ran.
“We were frightened. The restaurant staff were very helpful and in the end we ran away and ordered a taxi,”
Police soon arrived en masse cordoning off the area and sending diners away.
The Policia Nacional confirmed to The Olive Press that a man was arrested for public disorder, with the first hypotheses being that he was suffering from an episode of mental illness.
They added that the man was not carrying any dangerous objects, confirming that that the threat was a hoax.
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