2023-12-14 10:58:00
Students and staff at Sainte-Gertrude college, in Nivelles, were evacuated in the morning following a bomb threat, this Thursday, December 14, 2023.
A large security perimeter has been set up around the school, requiring a complete shutdown of traffic on Boulevard de la Dodaine. Around 11:30 a.m., pedestrians were also pushed back by the police outside this security perimeter. These diversions caused quite a bit of congestion in the city center and on the peripheral roads.
The children had to be evacuated. ©IPM
The management of the Nivelles school located in the city center received an electronic message on Thursday morning announcing the placement of a bomb inside the premises.
“It is the administrative authorities who manage the evacuation and security of the students while the police are responsible for searching the premises. It is only afterward that we will take over for the judicial aspect,” said the spokesperson. from the Walloon Brabant public prosecutor’s office to the Belga agency.
This bomb threat could cost its author colossal compensation since, on a criminal level, a false threat of this type can result in a prison sentence of up to two years and a fine of 2,400 euros.
The bomb alert which was triggered on Thursday around 9 a.m. at the Sainte-Gertrude college in Nivelles created a lot of unrest throughout the morning in part of the center of Nivelles. This alert was indeed taken very seriously and the 1,300 students in this secondary school were evacuated in order, to allow the premises to be searched with as little risk as possible.
A vast security perimeter sometimes virulently defended
Vehicle and pedestrian traffic was even cut off on Boulevard de la Dodaine in front of the establishment, and cars could not circulate on Rue de Mons from the Grand-Place either. Quite a few police officers were mobilized to establish and then defend – sometimes in a virulent manner – this vast security perimeter.
This precautionary measure regarding traffic was lifted shortly before 1 p.m., but it created quite a bit of congestion at the end of the morning in the streets of the center of Nivelles. As for the college students, once they left the premises, they were distributed between two places made available by the City and which they reached on foot: the sports hall at Parc de la Dodaine, and the Waux-Hall.
It was finally decided that classes would not resume Thursday afternoon in the establishment, and the students who had the possibility were able to return home.
Available parents could come and pick up the young people who were at Waux-Hall, several police officers working to regulate traffic and secure the crossing of the road to avoid hiccups.
“When most of the students who were at Waux-Hall have left, those who were evacuated to Dodaine will come here, and parents will also be able to come and pick them up,” explained Mayor Pierre Huart on site around 1 p.m.
Without subscription, controllers will understand
Those who wanted to were also able to take the bus back home by public transport, from the Grand-Place bus station. The local authorities contacted the TEC because some young people had left their school subscriptions. They were still able to board the buses, the controllers having been warned of this exceptional situation.
The King Baudouin college in Schaerbeek, in the Brussels region, was also evacuated Thursday morning following a bomb threat addressed to the management.
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