Amsterdam police evacuate RAI convention hall for hours over suspicious package
The discovery of a suspicious package triggered a partial evacuation of the RAI convention center in Amsterdam on Wednesday morning. The police sent explosive experts to the scene to investigate. The incident lasted for several hours, with the object eventually found to be harmless.
"The package was examined and it turned out that no explosives and/or other criminally punishable objects were present. The police investigation has been completed," authorities said just before 2:30 p.m., more than four hours after officials arrived at the location.
The suspicious package was found at one of the building’s entrances at around 10 a.m. The police cordoned off an area of around 100 meters around the convention center, according to AT5. Police, the fire department, paramedics, and explosive experts were sent to the scene.
The authorities scaled up the situation to a Grip 1 emergency protocol at 12:17 p.m. That means that the different emergency services all work together under a single incident commander, with additional support made available for local authorities.
This can sometimes be used in certain scenarios when additional assistance is needed to handle larger groups of people, or when emergency services crews need access to more equipment and personnel.
The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference was interrupted by the evacuation. On Instagram, the conference urged attendees to listen to the security services’ instructions and remain calm.
