A mysterious liquid leaking on a cargo jet sent emergency crews rushing to an island airport in Alaska, but it turns out a barman with a towel could have handled the problem.

The leak on the Alaska Airlines plane was traced to a container of lime juice that broke open during a flight from Seattle.

Alaska Airlines said workers first detected the sour-smelling liquid coming from a cargo container.

Airport staff took a cautious approach and called for emergency responders from the Ketchikan fire department to take a ferry to the airport on Gravina Island, where they diagnosed the source.

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