A HOTEL room used in a siege on the Gold Coast was rigged to blow up with at least 10 different explosive devices. Police found the bombs inside a unit at The Grand Hotel in the northern Gold Coast suburb of Labrador after the overnight siege ended peacefully this morning. More than 16 hours after negotiations began, a 43-year-old man surrendered by raising his arms in the air in a 12th floor apartment window in full view of dozens of tourists who had gathered to watch the drama unfold. The bombs were to be removed from the apartment this afternoon and detonated at another site. Detective Inspector John Hartwell said the man did not make any specific demands during the ordeal and a motive was not immediately apparent. During the night, he claimed to be holding hostages and threatened to detonate explosive devices.The nature of the bombs found by police was not revealed, but quantities of household chemicals were believed to have been in the unit. "Commercial chemicals that you can easily get anywhere and if you mix them in the right direction you are in strife," Inspector Rick Wall said. More chemicals were found and destroyed during a search of the man's house at Coombabah on the Gold Coast. The alarm was raised by a baby sitter who was called to the room at about 6pm (AEST) yesterday and was allegedly hit over the head by a piece of wood before she fled. She was treated in hospital and released. Another woman also was called to the room, but was stopped by police before going upstairs.
The first officers on the scene noticed the apartment door had been sealed shut with adhesive foam material. Police evacuated three floors of the hotel and blocked surrounding streets. A crowd of locals and tourists watched from outside a perimeter fence as police negotiated with the man. The man was described as upset, but not anxious or stressed. "It's a bit scary, not good for Christmas," New Zealand visitor Leanne Taylor said.
Shortly after 10am (AEST) today, the man opened the curtains of the apartment and took off his T-shirt while speaking with negotiators on a mobile phone. Looking directly into a video camera, which police had attached to a pole and hung outside the 12th floor window, the man threw both of his arms up in the air in the universal signal for surrender. "The male person has surrendered into police custody," Inspector Hartwell said a short time later. Officers forced open the sealed door of the room and completed the arrest. Police said numerous charges would be laid after investigations were completed.