Publisher Sanoma’s HQ evacuated after package found

By Janene Pieters on March 22, 2016 - 14:25
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Sanoma building in Hoofddorp evacuated after the discovery of a suspicious package, 22 Mar 2016 (Photo: @michielscholten/Twitter). (Sanoma building in Hoofddorp evacuated after the discovery of a suspicious package, 22 Mar 2016 (Photo: @michielscholten/Twitter))

The evacuation of the headquarters building of publishing house Sanoma was ordered on Tuesday afternoon after the discovery of a suspicious package. The police said the measure was precautionary, with witnesses saying about 500 people were stuck outside the building.

According to the police, so far the evacuation is just a precaution. Officers are currently investigating the building. A NU.nl reporter tweeted an internal mail stating that the suspicious package was discovered in the building's garage. According to Hart van Nederland, it is an aluminium package found in a car with doors left open.

The evacuation began after 1 p.m., with police allowing people back into the building at about 2:30 p.m. Police on Twitter said a package in a car was the focus of their investigation, which was later found to be harmless.

The Sanoma headquarters is close to Hoofddorp station, which was evacuated and closed off for hours on Tuesday. The evacuation was due to a suspicious person spotted on an international train between Brussels and Amsterdam. The investigation of the train was concluded with one arrest made on the train, and two others held at the station. Dutch railway NS said that train delays could last to 8:00 p.m.

A floor of the NOS media building in Hilversum was also evacuated on Tuesday. This due to the discovery of an envelope containing white powder. It turned out to be a false alarm - the envelope did not contain anything harmful.

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