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2nd LD Writethru: Police arrest suspicious man in Thalys train at Rotterdam

Xinhua, September 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

A suspicious person who locked himself in the toilet of a Thalys train was arrested on Friday morning at Rotterdam Central Station.

All passengers of the high-speed train were evacuated.

Around 9:50 a.m. local time (0750 GMT) the suspect was arrested without any resistance, according to the police. He came out escorted by a SWAT team and the police. Because the suspect was hyperventilating, he was taken away in an ambulance, accompanied by police officers. The suspect was not armed.

The train was on its way from Amsterdam to Paris. At around 7:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) the police received a message there was a suspicious situation taking place. The man had jumped on the train just before departure and locked himself in the toilet.

Attempts by a police negotiator to get the person out of the toilet failed. Out of precaution, part of Rotterdam Central Station was cleared and train traffic to and from the station was temporarily stopped.

The Dutch Defense Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service (DEODS), responsible for detecting, identifying and disposing explosives, investigated the train after the arrest and found the suspect's backpack. So far, more results of the investigation are not available. Endit