A security perimeter was established on Thursday afternoon in Stockel, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, following the discovery of a suspicious package in the car park of Stockel Square.
The metro station, shopping centre, and car park were evacuated. According to the mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre Benoît Cerexhe (Les Engagés), the package was a suitcase for transporting radioactive materials, prompting the security measures.
"A suspicious suitcase was left by a lady on the car park of Stockel commercial centre, marked with a sticker showing 'Radioactive hazard'," the mayor said.
Firefighters and the bomb disposal unit were dispatched to the scene. Measurements taken near the suitcase revealed no radioactivity. By early evening, the security perimeter was reduced to the immediate vicinity of the suspect package.
A representative from the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control visited the location to analyse the suitcase’s contents, Cerexhe confirmed to Belga News Agency.
The spokesperson for the Montgomery police zone Michaël Jonniaux confirmed that a major response had been triggered after a suspicious package was detected near the Stockel metro station in the Stockel Square car park.
Initially, the security perimeter included the metro station. Further analysis by the army’s bomb disposal service saw this perimeter reduced once it was established that there was no risk of explosion. By 17:50, motorists were allowed access to their vehicles parked in the car park and the metro service restarted.
"There is no reason to worry, everything is under control," Cerexhe said.
