Bomb threat to Brussels shopping mall a hoax

AT 5.30am on Tuesday, June 21 emergency services received a telephone call from a man who claimed that he was wearing a belt packed with explosives and was en route to the City2Mall in Brussels with the intention of blowing it up.

Police and officers from DOVO (bomb disposal unit) raced to the scene and closed roads around the mall, apprehending a suspect who upon examination appeared to be wearing a belt of some sort but which contained no explosives.

The authorities cannot afford to ignore a single threat, but the incidence of hoax calls of this type do nothing to calm the nerves of local people and indeed cause additional disruption to transportation and work patterns. 

The mall is considered to be a major potential threat for an attack, and Brussels continues to remain on high alert.