A soccer match in Hannover, Germany between Germany and the Netherlands was canceled at the last minute on Tuesday and the crowd evacuated after a “suspicious package” was found. The threat comes just days after ISIS-led terror attacks in Paris killed at least 129 people and injured hundreds of others.
There have been conflicting reports as to the exact nature of the threat. Reuters and AFP are reporting that no explosives were found.
However, earlier reports from DW Sports quoted the Hannover police chief as saying, “There was a device intended to be detonated inside the stadium.” DW Sports, via the German news site Bild, also reported that German police discovered a truck bomb disguised as an ambulance near the stadium.
https://twitter.com/dw_sports/status/666698740108009472
German chancellor Angela Merkel was scheduled to attend the friendly match “to send a signal that Germany wouldn’t bow to terrorism in the wake of the Paris attacks.” According to police, she had not arrived at the time of the evacuation.
After suicide bombers detonated explosives last Friday outside of Germany’s match against France in Paris, the German head coach Joachim Loew said that his team was playing this match as a “symbol of freedom, and a demonstration of compassion, as well as sorrow, for our French friends.” The German national team tweeted that they are under police protection and have been escorted to a safe place.
Police ordered everyone at the stadium to evacuate about 90 minutes before kickoff when the suspicious object was spotted; at the time, most fans were still outside. A video posted to Twitter showed the police officers trying to keep everyone calm as they left the stadium. However, there was still mass confusion.
Massive confusion here at hannover as match cancelled after letting first batch of fans in… @BBCBreaking pic.twitter.com/aOyzW4MWbu
— Dion Farnes (@DionFarnes) November 17, 2015
Another friendly match between Spain and Belgium scheduled for Tuesday was canceled due to the heightened fear of terrorism and the ongoing manhunts for the Paris attackers in Belgium. However, the match between France and England was played on Tuesday in London, and was filled with tributes to the Paris victims.
One of the attackers in Paris on Friday attempted to enter the Stade de France soccer stadium where the France vs. Germany friendly was taking place, but the explosives were found on his vest when he was frisked at the entrance by security guard. He detonated his vest outside of the stadium instead, killing one and injuring a few police officers. The French President Francois Hollande was inside of the stadium at the time.
There are also reports from DW Sports that Hannover police have closed a section of the city’s central train station because another suspicious object was discovered.
ThinkProgress will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.