Hannover stadium hosting Germany-Netherlands game is being evacuated

“The indications of danger grew thicker throughout the course of the early evening”, De Maziere said.

“We will have greater police ranks out all night to show that we are there and that we are ensuring and can ensure people’s safety”. “We need to stand tall together in these tough times”.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere was meeting with local counterpart Boris Pistorius late Tuesday when more background details were to be given at a news conference. Merkel and ministers plane Berlin the way back, the stadium about an hour before the alarm whistle announced the start not evacuated in panic.

“But yesterday – and this was the right thing – it was decided, in doubt, to go for security”.

Police say they are evaluating surveillance video to identify the passenger, ARD reported. There were reports later that the city’s main train station was partially out of service.

The German national team had not entered the stadium when the match was cancelled and was diverted by police to an unknown location.

The Germany-Netherlands match was the second European worldwide soccer friendly to be canceled since last Friday night’s coordinated Islamic terrorist attacks in Paris, which left 129 people dead. IS has claimed responsibility for those and French police raided an apartment in Paris where a Belgian militant suspected of masterminding the attacks may have been holed up.

“All matches are scheduled to go ahead as planned”, UEFA said in a statement.

“This game was supposed to be a special gesture”.

“It feels like a loss, but the security of the fans and players takes precedence”, Edith Schippers, Dutch sports minister, said on Dutch radio after returning to the Netherlands.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has apologised to supporters for the postponement of the fixture between Germany and Holland, but praised them for their conduct at the Niedersachsenstadion in Hannover.

“There was no information about why the game was called off, security has to come first I guess”.

Screens inside the stadium displayed the words to La Marseillaise as fans joined in to sing the anthem, before a minutes’ silence was observed ahead of the match. I’m also scared about the threat, the terror threat, which seems to have reached Germany as well.

Pistorius said there was no confirmation of rumors that an explosive device was placed in an ambulance or another vehicle inside or outside the stadium.

Belgium’s friendly with Spain in Brussels, also scheduled to be played on Tuesday, was called off on Monday because of security fears in the wake of last week’s attacks in Paris.