(Berlin) Traffic at Hamburg airport in northern Germany was interrupted on Saturday evening due to a large police operation linked to a hostage-taking, local law enforcement said.
“Incidents are currently occurring on the tarmac at Hamburg Airport. A major police operation is underway,” the Hamburg police said on their X account (formerly Twitter).
“We assume that this is a hostage (taking) situation,” she added, without giving further details at this stage.
According to German media, an armed man broke down an airport gate and entered the tarmac.
He allegedly fired twice in the air and held two children hostage in his vehicle, the popular newspaper Bild said, citing police sources.
Earlier, the car driver’s wife had reported to the police over possible child abduction, he added.
The police are present on site with special forces and a helicopter.
At the same time, the airport published a message on its website announcing that no landing or takeoff was possible due to police intervention, again without giving details.