School, city offices evacuated for suspicious package

Update, 5:20 p.m., 23 November 2015: The situation was ended in Sittard by about 2:30 p.m. when police identified the content of the box that triggered the alarm. A suspicious package led to the evacuation of a Sittard municipal building and a nearby school on Monday. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team arrived at the scene around 1:00 p.m. to investigate, only to discover that the box with no return address only contained a pair of women's boots, according to newswire ANP. According to the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, the evacuated area included the Walram building on Walramstraat and the Xaveriusschool on Overhovenstraat. The surrounding area was closed down to the public. The 150 employees working in the municipal building were moved to other city offices. A spokesperson for the municipality said that the package arrived in the municipality's mail room on Monday morning. The municipality called in the police after mail sorters raised a red flag about the box. The police and a sniffer dog investigated the package and decided to call in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.

Gebouw gemeente aan Walramstr Sittard ontruimd ivm verdacht pakket. School in de buurt wordt zekerheidshalve ook ontruimd. EOD is opgeroepen

— Politie Eenheid Limburg (@POL_Limburg) November 23, 2015

#Sittard De EOD (explosieven opruimingsdienst) is inmiddels gearriveerd. #Walramstraat

— Politie Eenheid Limburg (@POL_Limburg) November 23, 2015