Germany bomb alert: City put in lockdown with major shopping hub evacuated
POLICE evacuated Primark and other shops in the heart of the German city of Gelsenkirchen due to a bomb threat.
Germany: Police cordon off street after bomb threat
The historic centre of Gelsenkirchen, a city in western Germany, was closed and evacuated by police after a local Primark received a bomb threat shortly before 9am BST (10am local time). Officers cordoned off for hours a large area of the old town's centre. An investigation was carried out to find out whether the threat was real and find anyone responsible for it.
Police reopened the area only at 12pm BST (1pm local time), allowing once again pedestrian to re-enter the area and shops, they said on Twitter.
After the alarm was first launched, Gelsenkirchen Police wrote on Twitter: "After a threat against a business, police arrived on Bahnhofstraße, #Gelsenkirchen.
"We have cordoned off the area and will keep you informed."
The area surrounding Bahnhofstraße, where the bomb threat was launched, was entirely evacuated, with only police officers and emergency services allowed within the cordon.
Police added: "An investigation is ongoing in the city centre.
"Shops have been closed and the area has been cleared."
The cordon was initially covering an area as large as 100m, but it has been later increased to 150m.
Police officers with dogs were spotted searching the area, and firefighters were also seen in attendance as a precaution.
A police spokeswoman said: "All people have been evacuated from the area. Police took the threat seriously."
A witness said the evacuation sparked "complete panic" among members of the public.
As they were told they had to quickly leave the area, the female witness, who was in a shop near Primark, revealed people feared there was a shooting underway.
She said: "Our first thought was that there was a person running around with a gun.
Germany remains on a high-security alert due to a number of deadly terror attacks in the country and across Europe.
Just last month panic spread across Germany after six town halls received bomb threats via mail.
The area surrounding the local government's buildings of Augsburg, Kaiserslautern, Chemnitz, Göttingen, Neunkirchen and Rendsburg had to be evacuated, and a massive police operation went on for hours in a bid to make sure the area was safe and find who sent the threatening mail.
(Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg)