Brussels police evacuated an area of the downtown, near the Palace cinema in the centre of Brussels this afternoon, cordoning off the area and preventing access. Tram and metro stations near Beurs have also been closed.
By order of the police metro lines 1 and 5 were suspended between the Kunst-Wet and Graaf Van Vlaanderen stations.
MIVB trams in the city centre are still running, but are not stopping at Beurs, Anneessens or De Brouckère.
Tuesday afternoon police confirmed that they had evacuated the area around the Palace cinema and the nearby metro stations and are searching the area due to a bomb threat.
According to daily Het Laatste Nieuws, the terraces of hospitality outlets in the area were also evacuated. The businesses themselves were not evacuated, but no one is allowed outside. Anyone who wants to leave may do so only under police escort.
Around 4:45PM the police cordon was lifted and access again permitted. Local transport services returned to normal.