Weekend bomb scares hit market halls, train station

A wave of bomb threats cleared market halls across Budapest on Saturday morning, while the Keleti (eastern) railway station was evacuated Sunday evening due to a similar warning. While all of the threats turned out to be hollow, they caused significant disruption and financial losses.

Saturday's telephone threat was against eight of Budapest's market halls, including the famous Central Market Hall near Szabadság (Freedom) Bridge. Shoppers and vendors were forced to evacuate the halls during the peak shopping period, just before noon. Because of the interruption, some of the affected halls stayed open later than usual. According to tabloid Színes Bulvár lap, the aim of the caller may have been to cause financial damage to those working at the markets.

Keleti station was evacuated at 7:00 p.m. No explosives were found. State railway operator MÁV spokesman Imre Kavalecz told Magyar Rádió that arriving trains had to wait at stations before Keleti and that no trains could leave Keleti during the threat. While this led to widespread delays during the evening, this morning's trains are on schedule.

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