Schiphol terminal evacuated after bomb threat

Schiphol airport's departure hall 3 was evacuated for a short time on Friday after a 29 year old British man shouted that he had a bomb, a spokesperson for the Marechaussee confirmed to NL Times. The incident happened around 8:00 a.m. The spokesperson for the Marechaussee, a policing force responsible for airport security, emphatically stated that the rumors going around on social media that shots were fired are absolutely not true. "Several time, he called out loudly that he was carrying a bomb", the spokesperson said. "Other passengers around him heard him saying this and alerted the Marechaussee. We reacted very quickly, and he was arrested immediately." The Marechaussee searched the man and his belongings and found nothing suspicious. The departure hall was closed down and bomb sniffing dogs searched the area. Nothing was found. An eyewitness told broadcaster NOS that everyone in the departure lounge panicked when the Marechaussee officers overpowered the man with weapons drawn. Many people fled the lounge, leaving their luggage behind. As of 10:30 a.m. on Friday the man was still in custody. When asked whether the suspect was drunk at the time, the spokesperson stated that "we do not know what his motives are. For privacy reasons the spokesperson would not say whether the man was arriving or leaving Amsterdam, nor would he comment on where in the United Kingdom the man is from. The departure hall was released again about 30 minutes after the man was arrested.