Alwaght- Due to a threat of a terror act, soccer match between the German and Dutch national teams on Tuesday night has been cancelled and the Hannover's stadium has been evacuated .
“We had concrete evidence that someone wanted to set off an explosive device in the stadium,” Hannover police chief Volker Kluwe told German TV .
Spectators that had already taken their places in the stands were asked to leave the stadium via loudspeakers and the friendly game was canceled about 90 minutes before kickoff .
There has been a report in a local newspaper saying an ambulance “full of explosives” was found outside the Hannover stadium, however, there has been no official confirmation .
"We do take this intelligence seriously. That is why we proceeded with this protocol. We did not take this decision lightly, but it was in accordance with the seriousness of the intelligence," the police chief for Germany's Lower Saxony region told Germany's public broadcaster NDR. However, no explosives were found at the stadium, regional Interior Minister Boris Pistorius said at a news conference Tuesday night .
German media outlets Der Spiegel and Bild Zeitung reported the tips came from France's intelligence agency. The French alerted German federal police to an "Iraqi sleeper cell" with plans to stage an attack .
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and at least three other top government officials had been expected to attend the match, Merkel's office said .
Some reports suggested Merkel was already at the stadium when the match was cancelled. Several cars with strobe beacons, possibly carrying high-ranking officials, have left the stadium .
Later that same evening, two Air France flights headed from the Washington to Paris were forced to divert to Halifax and Salt Lake City on Tuesday night due to bomb threats and an unconfirmed hijacking attempt
Air France confirmed in a statement that both flights AF055 and AF065 were diverted because they “were subjects of anonymous threats received after their respective take-offs .”
“As a precautionary measure and to conduct all necessary security checks, Air France, applying the safety regulations in force, decided to request the landings of both aircraft,” the statement added. “Local authorities are carrying out complete inspections of the aircraft, the passengers and their luggage. An investigation will be led by the authorities to identify the source of the telephone call .”
The incidents came four days after French capital was rocked by unprecedented terrorist attacks on Friday, killing at least 129 people and injuring hundreds more.
