Terminal 1 evacuated at Berlin BER Airport over alleged toxic threat

Police have evacuated Terminal 1 at Berlin's BER Airport after a woman told officers that she had toxic substances in her handbag, local reports cited a police spokesperson as saying Thursday.

All passengers were instructed to leave the building. Air and rail traffic have since been suspended, according to daily Tagesspiegel.

According to the report, a woman had taken the escalator up to the Federal Police station and told officers there that she carried toxic substances in her handbag. Officers then subdued the woman and she was arrested.

"Given the nature of the unidentified substance, a potential danger could not be ruled out," said the police spokesperson, adding that this is why the hazardous materials alert was triggered. He did not provide any further details at this time.

The alert is said to have been triggered around 5:45 p.m. (1545 GMT). A cordoned-off area was set up around the woman's handbag.

In the meantime, check-in operations in the public area of Terminal 1 have been suspended, an airport spokeswoman said.

Several fire departments from the Dahme-Spreewald district, as well as the airport fire department, are on the scene—wearing protective suits and using specialized equipment. The emergency operations center has also been activated, which occurs when an acute, complex crisis situation can no longer be managed by normal day-to-day operations.