Amsterdam offices of website Marktplaats, media outlets FD & BNR evacuated after threat

The offices of Marktplaats, BNR, and the Financieele Dagblad were evacuated on Thursday afternoon after the Marktplaats customer service department received a threat. The three companies are located in the same office building on Prins Bernhardplein in Amsterdam-Oost.

Police were not at the scene. They said the companies made the decision to evacuate the premises on their own, as police officers have not yet seen a reason to order people to leave the area.

A spokesperson for Marktplaats, a platform mainly used for selling second-hand goods, said the evacuation was carried out for “safety considerations.” He added that a Marktplaats user made the threat.

The work floors of radio channel BNR and the FD are currently empty, according to BNR deputy editor-in-chief Wendy Beenakker. The situation concerns hundreds of people who have been brought to safety.

“We moved to another location as quickly as possible. All employees are safe,” said BNR Editor-in-Chief Marc Adriani in an article on the organization's website. Both BNR and FD share the same parent company, FD Mediagroep.

Beenakker also said that the radio station will broadcast from an alternative location. “We ran a good test during the coronavirus crisis, like broadcasting from home, for example. Hopefully, this will not have an impact on the programming,” she said.

BNR also has a studio facility in The Hague, according to the company's website.