Germany's friendly against Netherlands has been cancelled after "concrete plans for an explosion inside the stadium" were discovered by police.
The HDI Arena in Hannover, which had been under increased security by armed police on Tuesday, was evacuated before kick-off after a suspicious package was found inside the ground.
All supporters and staff left the stadium without incident, but Police told Sky Germany that there were "concrete plans for an explosion in the stadium this evening".
An increased number of armed German federal police have also guarded the main train station and airport of Hannover in order to increase safety in the wake of Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris.
The German chancellor Angela Merkel and members of the German cabinet were expected to be among the guests at the match.
There were no signs of panic nor distress among supporters as they were urged by stadium announcers, staff and and police to leave the ground and its immediate vicinity in a calm manner.
No reason was immediately given for the cancellation, but German news agency Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) reported that there had been a threat of an impending attack that had to be taken seriously.
DPA also reported a bomb threat about an hour earlier outside the stadium and that streets leading to it had been sealed off before the all-clear was given.
Germany were playing France in the Stade de France in Paris on Friday when two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the stadium.
The HDI Arena in Hannover is home to Bundesliga club Hannover 96 and is also known as Niedersachsenstadion.
No comments:
Post a Comment