Amsterdam tram evacuated over suspicious suitcases

A large part of the Ceintuurbaan in Amsterdam was closed down and evacuated after two unattended suitcases were found in tram 24, near Ferdinand Bolstraat on Tuesday. The police are investigating.

GVB employees noticed a suspicious looking person placing the suitcases in the tram around 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday and called the police. After some deliberation, the authorities decided to evacuate the area, AT5 reports. Shopkeepers were instructed to close their stores, local residents were instructed to stay inside and pedestrians were escorted out of the area.

A sniffer dog was deployed to the tram. It is not yet clear whether anything dangerous was found, but around 1:15 p.m. the police released the area. The tram and suitcases were taken away for further investigation.

Tram lines 3, 12 and 24 were redirected for those two hours. But the tram schedule is now slowly returning to normal. 

Onderzoek afgerond, koffers en tram worden elders onderzocht op sporen van eigenaar. Afzettingen worden zsm opgeheven.

— Politie Eenheid Amsterdam (@POL_Amsterdam) May 23, 2017