World
Netherlands nightclub hostage crisis ends after Dutch police arrest masked man
A hostage situation at a popular nightclub in eastern Netherlands’ town Ede, about 76 km southeast of Amsterdam, ended after the Dutch police arrested a masked man. Several people were taken hostage by a man early on Saturday (March 30) who threatened to blow himself up, according to local media reports.
The Dutch authorities confirmed that three nightclub-goers were released as the authorities sent robotic equipment to configure the state of hostages inside the Ede cafe. The crisis ended after the last hostage was released and the masked man surrendered.
Dozen of homes around the area were evacuated and the town centre was closed down. Trains to and from Ede were cancelled from the local schedule charts.
“The last hostage has just been released. One person has been arrested,” a police statement said. “We cannot share more information at this time.”
René Verhulst, Mayor of Ede said later: “The siege has ended. We are talking to the families of the hostages who were horrified by this incident, we were able to evacuate hundreds of homes during the siege. As far as we know, the suspect is a Dutch citizen and is well known by the police.”
Local newspaper de Telegraaf reported that people were being held at the local Petticoat nightclub by a “man with weapons and explosives”.
This is a developing story. More information will be added soon.
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