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Roundup: False alarm causes chaos in Madrid after suspect package found at station

Xinhua, January 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

A false alarm over a possible terrorist bomb brought the center of Madrid to a halt on Thursday evening.

The alarm was given after the discovery of a suspect package at the Nuevos Ministerios station shortly after 17:30 local time.

Police immediately closed the station and evacuated everyone inside after the package, a shoebox, approximately 20 cm by 10 cm and with the logo "Storm" written on it, was found placed on top of a rubbish bin in the entry hall to the station.

Nuevos Ministerios, which is in the heart of the capital serves three lines of the Madrid metro, as well as regional and local trains and both metro and train services through the station were suspended while explosives experts worked to determine whether the threat was genuine.

Police dogs are reported to have initially reacted as if the box did indeed contain explosives but it was confirmed as a false alarm at 18:45 local time and it is thought that chewing gum stuck around the parcel provoked the reaction from the animals.

Meanwhile the Paseo del la Castellana, which is the main road running from north to south though the Spanish capital and passes next to the station, was also closed to traffic, just as the evening rush hour was beginning.

This happens a day after the Spanish government raised its security level from 2 to 3 in the wake of the attack on the offices of French Magazine Charlie Hebdo which left 12 people dead.

Wednesday also saw the offices of several Spanish newspapers evacuated after receiving suspect packages, although this was finally confirmed to be a false alarm and police confirmed the man responsible had been arrested on Thursday.

On Jan. 2 the Atocha railway station, the scene of the 2004 atrocity which killed over 190 people, had to be evacuated as an emergency measure after a man of North African origin threatened to blow himself up on a local train although this too was a false alarm as he was later found to carrying a bottle of water. Endit