Three men who escaped from an airport in Qingdao, Shandong Province, on Sunday are members of a suspected theft ring, not terrorists, the city's police authority said today.

A spokesperson of the Qingdao Public Security Bureau denied overseas media reports that the "Qingdao airport was under a terrorist attack,'' according to xinhuanet.com.

"The suspects entered the airport to commit thefts. They did not target soldiers and they do not have a terrorism background, so there is no possibility that it was a terrorist attack,'' the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

The suspects are natives of Meigu County, Sichuan Province.

The men allegedly sneaked into the airport to find theft targets but security staff discovered the suspicious looking trio before they could steal anything, the report said.

They fled the airport, but were caught by Qingdao police the next morning, the report said.