The Brussels-North station evacuated after the discovery of a suspicious package: the deminers neutralized the “case”

Brussels-North station was evacuated this Wednesday shortly before 7 p.m., after the discovery of a suspicious package. All rail traffic between Brussels-North and Brussels-Midi has been interrupted. A little after 9 p.m., trains traffic resumed and the station was reopened.

Many of you have contacted us this Wednesday evening for a “bomb alert” at the Gare du Nord, in Brussels. “Gare du Nord evacuated. Big police deployment to all entries, ”said Anne at 7:30 p.m. via our orange button to alert us.

“Huge SNCB’s total judgment between Brussels-North and Brussels-Midi with the presence of the police,” said Fauve. “Bomb alert at Gare du Nord. Announcement made at 7 p.m. by the controller, ”also testified Jacques. “What’s going on at the Gare du Nord?” My daughter is blocked on the train direction Zaventem near Gare du Nord, ”asked again.

“A little before 7:00 p.m., a suspect package was reported at Brussels-North station,” the federal police reported. The station was then completely evacuated. The army demining service (SEDEE) came on site and neutralized the package. “After investigation, it seems that it was a case with, among other things, batteries, cables and solar panels,” said the federal police. The owner of the bag was arrested during the control of the package.

The SNCB confirmed that all traffic between Brussels-North and Brussels-Midi had been interrupted as a security measure. “We, Infrabel, we were asked not to let go of trains at the station for the moment,” said Frédéric Sacré, spokesperson for Infrabel.

“The trains no longer stop at the Gare du Nord. You have to go to the central station. Everything is blocked., The deminers arrive, “also said around 7:45 pm our journalist Christophe Deborsu, who was there.

Some trains have been diverted, notably via Schaerbeek. “I am on a train that started from Ostend to Liège. He left for about 20 minutes in Brussels-Midi. We were informed that there was a bomb alert in Brussels and that for our safety the train took another route, “confirmed Danielle a little before 8 p.m.

A little after 9 p.m., after about two hours of interruption, the traffic of trains was able to resume. “The station has been completely accessible since 9 p.m.,” said Tom Guillaume, SNCB spokesperson.

The Stib, for its part, reported significant disturbances on several tram lines, including lines 4, 10 and 55, due to the situation at the station. Around 9 p.m., it also indicated that the situation gradually normalized on its network.