The bus, bound for Brussels, was stopped by the authorities near Ghent. “We are not yet sure that the threat was real,” said the spokesperson for the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office, who reported three arrests.
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Belgian police stopped and evacuated a Flixbus company bus from Lille on Thursday, January 11, after a passenger alerted them to a potential risk of attack. “terrorist”. Three people were arrested for questioning, according to Belgian authorities. The bus, bound for Brussels, was stopped by the authorities in Wetteren, near Ghent, according to a spokesperson for the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office.
The passenger who raised the alarm claims to have heard a conversation between other passengers suggesting a risk of attack. The police therefore stopped the vehicle to evacuate and inspect it, said a spokesperson for the Belgian Minister of Justice, Paul Van Tigchelt.
“We are not yet sure that the threat was real”added the spokesperson for the prosecution, who confirms that the incident is not yet formally considered as “terrorist” and that the federal prosecutor’s office was not contacted. The Belgian anti-terrorism agency (Ocam) told AFP “have no reason” to raise its alert level for the moment, taking into account the intervention “preventive” of the police and the absence “concrete information” at this stage.
