30 March 2024 , 12:25
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Multiple people have been held hostage at a bar in the Netherlands where armed police surrounded the building amid reports that a man entered with weapons and explosives
People were held held hostage inside a bar in the Netherlands, police have confirmed, with claims that he has weapons and explosives.
Reports emerged that "multiple" people at the Cafe Petticoat in Ede were being held hostage. Police said in a statement: "We notice that there are many questions about the reason. At this time there is no indication of a terrorist motive."
First news of the hostage situation began at 5.42am and it lasted for around seven hours later. A person was claimed to have explosives and 150 homes were evacuated.
Police said in a statement on Twitter: "A hostage situation involving several people is underway in a building in the centre. That is why several specialist services are on site."
Images from the scene in Ede, a rural market town 53 miles southeast of Amsterdam, showed police and firefighters on the streets in a cordoned-off area. The municipality said that all shops in the centre of Ede would remain closed.
Finally a man, believed to have been the hostage taker, was seen leaving the building around 12.30pm local time and arrested, after four people were released.