2 trains evacuated in Barcelona after possible bomb found

Authorities in Barcelona say the city’s main train station has reopened after it was closed during Wednesday’s rush hour while police searched for possible explosives in a suspicious suitcase.

The Mossos d’Esquadra regional police in Catalonia said the explosives unit was activated at the high-speed railway tracks of Barcelona’s central Sants station after a security scanner identified an object shaped like a possible explosive device inside a suitcase at 8 a.m. Wednesday (0700GMT).

Two trains were searched, said a Mossos d’Esquadra spokeswoman who was not allowed to be identified by name in media reports. She added that agents following security protocol ordered the evacuation of the station while they carried out the checks.

More than an hour later, the Spanish train infrastructure management company ADIF announced on Twitter that the station was resuming normal operations.

An AP reporter at the scene saw long queues of passengers waiting for rail traffic to resume.

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Parra reported from Madrid.