A false bomb threat was made against a De Lijn bus on Wednesday evening, prompting evacuations of local residents in the Mariakerke district of Ghent, local police report.
At around 20:25, a bomb threat was reported by an anonymous phone call about a De Lijn bus which was stopped near a post office in the Ghent district. Passengers were quickly transferred from the bus to another vehicle and police cordoned off the surrounding area. Residents were also evacuated from homes and businesses near the bus.
The Belgian army bomb squad, DOVO, was called to intervene but COPS – the elite unit of the Ghent police – arrived on the scene first. Their experts conducted a thorough search of the bus and concluded that there was no threat.
Police are now searching for those responsible for calling in the false bomb threat on the De Lijn bus. False bomb threats regularly target schools, public transportation, shopping centres, and other venues.
