United States President Barack Obama was told that his specially armoured limousine, christened as ‘The Beast’, broke down in Israel before it could arrive to pick him up from the Airport. Reportedly, the vehicle was filled up of gasoline instead of diesel. This happening took place when the President had not yet landed at the Ben-Gurion International Airport on 20th March. Instead, another limousine was flown in from Jordan for the US leader to take him around Jerusalem. However, the president did travel from the airport to Jerusalem in a helicopter, as per original schedule.
Commenting on the situation, US Secret Service Spokesman Edwin Donovan was quoted as saying, “We experienced mechanical trouble with one of the cars. We don’t know the cause.” However, he could not confirm whether gasoline was filled in the vehicle in place of diesel. After failing to start, ‘The Beast’ was towed to Jerusalem by Moti Matmon, owner of a local tow-truck company, who was contacted at 10 am local time. The vehicle was then taken to a garage in Jerusalem for repair. Obama is expected to visit Jordan on 21st March. Interestingly, whenever the US President travels out of the country, the US Secret Service flies ahead of Air Force One and transports his vehicles.
There are very few specifications that are known about ‘The Beast’. The car is built to withstand any kind of bullet or bomb attacks and weights about 8 tonnes. It is essentially a heavily modified Cadillac that has several inches of bullet proof glass, special suspension to withstand bombs and hermetically sealed windows for protection against a possible gas attack. As information about the vehicle is strictly withheld, it is also not sure if there is a sticker saying ‘diesel fuel only’ or not. In the past, ‘the Beast’ had also faltered during a visit to Dublin in 2011. It was stuck on a ramp outside the US Embassy.
