MOSCOW, January 2 (Sputnik) – A train heading to Madrid’s Atocha station has been evacuated after a man carrying a backpack threatened to blow up the train, Sky News reports.
Currently, the central station is being evacuated.
URGENT: #Bomb threat in train station #Atocha, #Madrid, place has been evacuated. http://t.co/3vDnGzKggj pic.twitter.com/YLbyd2jxC2
— RT (@RT_com) 2 января 2015
The man threatened to blow up himself before being arrested. Reportedly, the man is of North African origin, according to the Spanish edition of the Huffington Post.
The police said the man was not carrying any explosives. The police found only a bottle of water in his backpack, Catalan daily La Vanguardia reported.
BREAKING: A bomb threat in train station #Atocha, in #Madrid. The place has been evacuated. pic.twitter.com/tHvTYlCC0C
— αηιs (@H0XH4) 2 января 2015
Due to the threat all rail traffic at Madrid’s central station has been suspended, but is expected to resume shortly, Reuters said. Atocha is the biggest train station in Madrid and the primary railway station for commuter trains for the city.
Back in 2004, al-Qaeda-inspired group blew up four trains in Madrid, killing a total of 191 people, with around 2,000 injured during the attack.