Van driver held near concert hall in Rotterdam

Dutch police are investigating a threat in Rotterdam and arrested driver of a Spanish van late on Wednesday.

The van with a Spanish license plate was halted between 9 and 10 p.m. local time on the Mijnsherenlaan street, Xinhua news agency reported.

The van was checked by the Dutch explosive ordnance disposal service. Around 11:30 p.m. local time, the bus was declared safe and driven to the police station.

During a press conference, Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said the van was driving suspiciously near the Maassilo concert hall, where a pop concert was cancelled earlier on Wednesday night after orders of the police due to a terror threat.

The building was being evacuated shortly after 7 p.m. and dozens of people who wanted to attend the concert, which hadn't started yet, could not get in.

A team of the Dutch Special Intervention Service (DSI) was present in case of an emergency situation.

The link between the van and the terror threat at the Maassilo concert hall is being investigated. "It is too early to draw conclusions," Aboutaleb stated.

On Wednesday afternoon, Rotterdam mayor Aboutaleb received the warning of a terror threat from the Spanish police, who are extra alert after the recent attacks in Spain.

The message was that a terrorist attack was planned during the concert. According to Aboutaleb, the threat was serious enough to cancel the concert.

--IANS

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