Suspicious powder letter arrived at town hall

Zaventem At the town of Zaventem is Thursday morning a letter with a suspicious powder arrived. Immediately great alarm was beaten, and the standard procedure followed. The fire brigade, police and civil protection were on site. The existing staff had to stay inside and two of them were also put in quarantine. Around 13 hours was the town hall finally released. The yellow substance proved to be harmless.

a lot of commotion Thursday morning in and around the city hall in the Diegemstraat. Also the floor was a letter with suspicious powder received. The letter was opened by the city immediately, general director, Wim Debruyn called. He put the emergency cycle in motion. The clerk and Debruyn were to be kept in quarantine. The four other servants in the town hall present were — it was quiet by the end of the year period — had provisional stay inside. Mayor Ingrid Holemans was not in the town hall at that time.

Fire brigade and the police had in the meantime, a perimeter set up. The civil protection of Brasschaat came around the afternoon. The yellow stuff was the first measurements of non-hazardous and certainly not biological or radioactive in nature. Also a scanning of the building gave a negative result. Around 13 hours was the town hall also released, and the servants were allowed back outside. The service Slachtofferbejegening was used. When the clerk that the letter had been opened and then together with Debruyn in quarantine was placed, was a and other emotionally heavy arrived. General director, Wim Debruyn wanted afterwards no comment is lost. He mainly wanted to work and was clearly displeased that he by the powder letter a half a day had lost after the installatievergadering from Wednesday night.

police chief Jean-Pierre Van Thienen of the Zaventemse police was heavily detuned. “This procedure requires the commitment of great men — both firemen and the police — and is time-consuming and costly. Meanwhile many other tasks. If this is the work of silly pranksters is that it's very sour.”