Explosives found at train station on Hong Kong’s border with mainland China, in what police call ‘one big step closer to terrorism’
- One of two devices catches fire and gives off smoke, after Lo Wu station’s closure
- Police say user of online platform Telegram has claimed responsibility, expressing anger at the government’s refusal to close the border amid coronavirus fears
Hong Kong police called the bomb squad to a railway station at the border with mainland China on Sunday afternoon, when two explosive devices were found on a train.
The police force called the incident part of an ongoing bombing campaign and said the city was “one big step closer to terrorism” carried out by extreme, violent individuals.
Lo Wu MTR station, which links to a border checkpoint between the city and Shenzhen, was closed for several hours, and rail services affected. The border checkpoint is one of the busiest in the world.
One of the devices was defused, while another caught fire and spurted white smoke, though it was unclear whether it had been detonated. No one was hurt.
Police said officers were called in when a cleaner spotted a plastic bag under a seat on a train, which arrived at a platform at about 3.10pm. The cleaner moved the bag to the platform, where another employee examined it and saw wires inside.