2 Metro Stations Evacuated in Brussels after Bomb Scare: Reports
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A suspect has been arrested following a bomb alert in a shopping mall in Brussels. Soon after, two metro stations were said to have been evacuated.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel called the situation “very suspicious” and urged a meeting of the National Security Council.
The incident happened at the City2 Shopping Mall in the heart of the Belgian capital, Russia Today cited local media as reporting on Tuesday, adding that it was a bomb alert.
The area was cordoned off and emergency services along with sappers arrived at the scene.
The police were notified at 5.30am “of a suspicious situation," said Ilse Van de Keere, spokeswoman for the Brussels-Ixelles police. "A security perimeter was established and the SEDEE unit [Belgian armed forces] is at the site. The operations are still ongoing.”
Traffic at the nearby Jardin Botanique Boulevard was blocked as well as at Rogier metro station.
Initially, a spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor said the man “arrested at 5.30 this morning” was “possibly in possession of explosives.”
However, later prosecutors said sappers found no explosives in the building and the belt turned out to be a fake.
Belgian media also reported that another suspect has been arrested in the Brussels area of Shaerbeek, but it was reported later on that the the 26-year-old man apparently made a fake ‘explosive belt’ filled with salt. He then called police flagging up a “terror alert.”
According to sources, the suspect may have mental health problems. The SEDEE unit found no explosives in his belt.
Soon after that, Schuman and De Brouckere stations in the Belgian capital were evacuated, locals reported on Twitter. Schuman serves the European quarter of Brussels and is located near EU buildings.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, who was due to speak to Belgian media, canceled the engagement, saying the situation “was very suspicious.”
After a meeting of the National Security Council, Michel told journalists “the situation is currently under control.” He added that security services “remain extremely vigilant.”
Brussels has been on high alert since twin suicide bombings hit Zaventem Airport and Maelbeek metro station on March 22. The station is near the buildings of the EU Commission and the Council of the European Union, as well as NATO’s headquarters.
