Bomb scare triggers evacuation at Paris’ Gare Du Nord railway station (PHOTOS)
by RT
Bomb scare triggers evacuation at Paris’ Gare Du Nord railway station (PHOTOS)
The Gare Du Nord train station in Paris was briefly evacuated after an alleged explosive device was discovered hidden inside an unattended bag, amid a heightened terrorism alert following stabbing attacks across Europe.
Scores of commuters were ordered to leave the station due to the suspicious unattended bag, following several false alarms earlier on Friday, the railway company SNCF said. Police provided few details, but have since given the all-clear.
Unverified photos of the device, resembling a mortar shell, circulated on social media, with some suggesting the object is a non-explosive dummy round used by the military for training.
#GareDuNord – Les munitions et les armes d’entraînement (= inoffensives) sont colorées en bleu uniquement au sein de l’OTAN. S’il agit bien d’un modèle M721 de la société US Cartridge, ce qui est ma principale hypothèse, cet obus est donc originellement dédié à l’entraînement. pic.twitter.com/R0BlR21Ruj
The evacuees were forced to wait outside the train station for some 40 minutes, the SNCF said, adding that other lines in the city had not been affected.
The incident comes on the heels of a series of stabbing attacks across Europe, sparking fears of terrorism. Two people were killed and three wounded in London, while three were wounded in The Hague.