3.500 students evacuated due to suspicious package in Ghent: it turns out to be empty suitcase to go

Gent In the Ledeganckstraat Gent is Monday around 14: 30, a suspicious suitcase was found. The street was completely closed off. Both buildings of HoGent and Ghent university, and also primary school ‘De Kleine Icarus " were preventively evacuated. In total, some 3,500 people brought to safety. In the research of ontmijningsdienst DOVO turned out to be the suitcase to be empty.

“We got around 14 hours of the notification that a suspicious suitcase was found between two vehicles, therefore we have preventive the school buildings are cleared and there is a perimeter set up,” says superintendent Eva Houpels. “It is always difficult at this moment in time, an exact estimate of the threat. There were many students present in the surrounding buildings, so we have the certain for the uncertain.”

Around 15.20 also came ontmijningsdienst DOVO on the spot. “After investigation, turned out to be a left behind or forgotten empty suitcase to go”, says Houpels, who emphasized that this is a normal procedure for such notification. “We can be certain of the scenarios run in this kind of situations. We had everything during the process under control.”

The suitcase was found at a tree on the campus. First, we wanted to make it to the ‘lost objects’, but there was nothing in

Students Stephanie Huyghe and Maarten Verwee

Two of Ghent students, Stephanie Huyghe (20) and Maarten Verwee (19), had a few hours earlier have already taken a look in the suitcase. “He stood by a sapling on the campus. A friend of us said: "Who let that in here now?’”, says Stephanie. “First, we wanted to make it to the ‘lost objects’, but there was nothing in the suitcase. The zijvakjes we have not checked. Then we are just going to the lesson and did not more thought. Until suddenly the alarm went off: we had no idea what was going on. "This is not a drill," they said. We thought in the first instance to a fire alarm. It was only when we were outside, we heard that the to that suitcase went.”