Melbourne. Melbourne’s CBD traffic has ground to a halt after police closed the area around the Victorian Parliament and the bomb squad went to investigate reports of a suspicious package being found in the area.
Spring, Nicholson, Lonsdale and Albert streets are closed, also bringing a number of tram services to a halt.
Victoria Police have yet to confirm the nature of the incident, saying only that they are conducting a “safety check”.
It’s believed passers noticed an unattended backpack in Parliament Gardens and notified a nearby fire station.
According to reports waiting for the bombsquad to look at backpack on a bench near #Parliament House #Melbourne pic.twitter.com/pBIzTQ8dB9
— Lew Short (@lewshort14) January 5, 2015
MFB is assisting @VictoriaPolice with an incident at Parliament Gardens. Surrounding roads are closed. #springst
— MFB (@MFB_NEWS) January 5, 2015
More to come.
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