French police evacuated Lyon’s Part-Dieu station and launched a major security operation on Thursday after a woman reportedly cried “Allahu akbar” and issued a bomb threat.
After the alarm was raised over the bomb threat, police cleared the station and established a security perimeter while they investigated and detained the woman, who has not been named.
No other arrests have been made at this time.
A bomb disposal and canine team were dispatched to the scene to conduct a search before passengers are allowed back into the station. They have been tasked with carrying out checks on luggage left in the station hall.
The woman, who witnesses claim was dressed in a burka and carrying a “suspicious package,” reportedly chanted “Allahu akbar” and shouted that she was “going to blow everything up” before she was arrested, BFM TV reports.
The French National Railway Company, SNCF, said that the transport network around Lyon had been “very heavily disrupted” by the incident, with no trains running through the station while the police operation is ongoing, resulting in long delays and cancellations.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!