A section of Munich international airport was shut down today after a passenger dodged the security control, a spokesman for Germany's second largest airport said.

German network N-24 quoted police saying that the man fled after traces of explosives were detected in a laptop computer by security. The laptop was confiscated but the man escaped into a closed-off area of the airport, said the broadcaster.

That report could not be immediately confirmed. About 12 flights bound for destinations in Germany and abroad have been delayed as security officials searched one level of the airport's Terminal 2 for the passenger, airport spokesman Edgar Engert said.

He added that more flights could be delayed.

The security breach happened shortly after 3 p.m. (1400 GMT). Federal police are searching the terminal.

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