Monitoring, surveillance stepped up in Netherlands

The Dutch police declared Tuesday it has increased monitoring and surveillance over suspicious situations across the country following the attacks in Brussels, though the threat level remains unchanged as "substantial", the second highest.

Increased police deployment is present at train stations in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, the four major cities and at other train stations with international traffic.

On highways to and from Belgium, police officers in heavy safety vest are paying extra attention to abnormal situations, said the Dutch police on its website.

At various places in the country, teams from the Special Interventions Service and the Monitoring Unit, all equipped with machine pistols, are standby. In residential areas, neighbourhood police officers are visibly present.

Tighter border controls are introduced at the southern border of the country.

Earlier in the afternoon, heightened alertness led to the Dutch Military Police to stop and search an international train coming from Brussels on its way to Schiphol.

The train was ordered to stop at Hoofddorp, about 10 km to the west of Schiphol. The station was evacuated and locked down, and the train and its passengers were checked. Nothing suspicious was found.

The Dutch police also asked the public to, in case of incidents, cooperate with emergency services as much as possible and to act accordingly with the instructions of the police and other emergency services.

Trains to and from Brussels no longer ride. People travelling to Belgium are stranded at train stations in cities near the Belgian border, such as Roosendaal.

Transport and Logistics Netherlands, the Dutch association for the transport and logistics sector, recommended people to avoid driving to Brussels.

"After the attacks in Brussels there is chaos on the roads in and around Brussels. The telephone network is also heavily burdened. We want to give you the advice to not drive to Brussels. Talk to your client about postponing any appointments today and throughout this week," said the association.

The nuclear power plant in Borssele in the southern Dutch province of Zeeland, is secured by a national police unit. Enditem