Two schools in Schaerbeek were temporarily closed on Monday morning due to a bomb alert.
Athénée Fernand Blum closed both of its sites – one on Avenue Ernest Renan and one on Avenue de Roodebeek – after receiving a bomb alert. The school notified the police at around 06:30, and both buildings were subsequently searched using explosive detection dogs.
"Pupils were informed that classes would not start until 10:30 if all went well," Audrey Dereymaeker, spokeswoman for the Brussels North police zone, told Belga News Agency. "The pupils who arrived on the scene have been directed to a safe place. The search with the dogs is currently underway, but it will take time as the building is large," she added.
"We have opened an investigation, as we do every time we receive such an alert," the spokesperson continued. "But the police measures concern above all the safety of the school and the children."
The 900 or so pupils attending both schools have since returned to class.
Several schools have fallen victim to similar threats in recent months, with a spate of false alarms across Brussels and Wallonia occurring late last year. False bomb threats are punishable by law, with the possibility of sentences ranging from three months to two years or fines between €400 and €2,400.
