Bomb alert at cathedral hours before religious festival
A BOMB alert was issued at a major cathedral hours before a major religious festival.
A bomb alert has been issued a Tournai Cathedral in Belgium
The alert was issued at Tournai Cathedral in western Belgium, sparking a huge police response.
CCTV cameras captured a man dropping off a suitcase at Tournai Cathedral, which is popular with tourists, before leaving the scene.
The incident began at around 1.15pm local time (12.15pm BST).
A security cordon was erected around the historic site in the town of Tournai, west Belgium.
The incident took place at Tournai in west Belgium
Mayor Paul-Olivier Delannois said: “I was informed of the incident at about 1.45pm. A surveillance camera placed inside Notre-Dame Cathedral filmed a man who put down a suitcase and then left the premises On the eve of the procession.
“The police immediately proceeded to evacuate the area and a security perimeter was established in the district. examination of this suitcase.”
He added “the cathedral is a symbolic high place in the Tournai region”.
Tournai Cathedral is the site of a major security alert
Bomb disposal teams were deployed to the site.
It comes on the eve of 925th anniversary of the town’s ‘Great Procession’ - a major religious festival.
The event attracts visitors from across Belgium and Europe and is one of the main events in the town’s calendar.