Police give all-clear after bomb threat at cross-border flea market in Kreuzlingen and Konstanz

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The Konstanz police headquarters (Polizeipräsidium Konstanz) said a telephone bomb threat was received on Sunday morning at around 2:00 a.m. "Am Sonntagmorgen gegen 2:00 Uhr sei eine telefonische Bombendrohung eingegangen, schreibt das Polizeipräsidium Konstanz in seiner Mitteilung." According to the police, an unknown caller warned in several phone calls of multiple bombs at the site of the 24-hour flea market in Konstanz: "Ein Unbekannter habe in mehreren Telefonaten vor mehreren Bomben auf dem Gelände des 24-Stunden-Flohmarkts in Konstanz gewarnt."

Threat reported in the early morning

In the early morning, the Thurgau cantonal police, responsible for the Swiss side, had spoken of an "unklare Bedrohungslage" — an unclear threat situation. A major police operation was underway in the harbor area from the early hours, the cantonal police said: "Es lief seit den frühen Morgenstunden ein Grosseinsatz im Bereich Hafenareal, meldete die Kantonspolizei Thurgau." Police later confirmed that the situation involved a bomb threat: "später bestätigte die Behörde, dass es sich um eine Bombendrohung handelte."

Because the annual event takes place on both sides of the border, the evacuation did not stop at the frontier. Not only the flea-market grounds in Konstanz, but also the border-proximate area of the harbor in Kreuzlingen were evacuated and then closed: "Aufgrund des grenzüberschreitenden Flohmarktes wurde nicht nur das Gelände in Konstanz, sondern auch der grenznahe Bereich des Hafenareals in Kreuzlingen evakuiert und im Anschluss gesperrt." The public was asked to avoid the area around the Klein Venedig festival grounds and Hafenstraße and to follow police instructions: "Dennoch werde die Bevölkerung gebeten, den Aufenthalt in dem Bereich des Festgeländes Klein Venedig und der Hafenstraße zu meiden und den Anweisungen der Polizei zu folgen."

Cross-border evacuation

The closure quickly rippled out into the local transport network. According to the SBB portal, train traffic between Kreuzlingen and the German city was interrupted because of an "Ereignis in Deutschland" — an event in Germany: "Wie auf dem Portal der SBB nachzulesen war, ist der Bahnverkehr zwischen Kreuzlingen und Konstanz wegen eines «Ereignisses in Deutschland» unterbrochen gewesen." Konstanz railway station was also affected by the closure: "Betroffen von der Sperre war auch der Bahnhof Konstanz."

Because the cordon affected the station, a rail replacement service was put in place. "Because the cordon affects the train station, a rail replacement service (Schienenersatzverkehr) is being set up." Bus services were diverted as well: "Auch der Busverkehr wird umgeleitet." Police initially did not release further details about the bomb threat: "Nähere Details zur Bombendrohung gab die Polizei zunächst nicht heraus."

Transport disrupted across the frontier

During the searches, officers found a suspicious object. "Bei Durchsuchungen sei ein verdächtiger Gegenstand gefunden worden, wie eine Sprecherin der Polizei am Mittag mitteilte." Authorities later concluded that there was no concrete danger to the population: "Eine konkrete Gefahr für die Bevölkerung besteht demnach nach derzeitiger Lagebeurteilung nicht." The police subsequently gave the all-clear: "Die Polizei hat unterdessen Entwarnung gegeben."

The 24-hour flea market is an annual two-day event held that weekend in Kreuzlingen and neighbouring Konstanz. It draws thousands of visitors each year and is one of the largest cross-border second-hand markets in the Lake Constance region. The cross-border flea market continued to operate normally in the remaining areas while the cordon was in place: "Der Betrieb des grenzüberschreitenden Flohmarktes in den übrigen Bereichen laufe regulär weiter."

Swiss and German officers worked together throughout the morning. The Thurgau police said they were in close exchange with the Konstanz police headquarters: "Sie stehe in engem Austausch mit dem Polizeipräsidium Konstanz, so die Thurgauer Polizei weiter." The Thurgau cantonal police is the lead authority on the Swiss side of the border.

Suspicious object found, then all-clear

In addition to the Kleinvenedig and Hafenstrasse areas, Konstanz railway station itself was affected, the Konstanz authorities confirmed: "dass nebst den Bereichen Kleinvenedig und Hafenstrasse auch der Konstanzer Bahnhof betroffen gewesen sei." The wording of the warnings had initially been cautious, with police describing only an "unklare Bedrohungslage" before confirming the bomb threat.

The Konstanz authorities' police investigations are not yet concluded: "Die polizeilichen Ermittlungen der Konstanzer Behörden seien noch nicht abgeschlossen." The harbour area where the large flea market was being held that weekend was fully reopened once the all-clear was issued: "Das Hafengelände, auf dem an diesem Wochenende ein grosser Flohmarkt stattfindet, ist wieder vollständig freigegeben." Train services between Kreuzlingen and Konstanz resumed in line with the lifting of the cordon.

Investigations continue

The incident is being handled as a case of a telephone bomb threat against a public event. No injuries were reported in the verified facts, and authorities have said the population was not in concrete danger. Police in Konstanz are continuing to investigate the source of the calls.

The public was asked to avoid staying in the area while the operation was underway: "Die Bevölkerung wurde gebeten, den Aufenthalt in dem Bereich zu meiden." After the all-clear, the market grounds in both cities were returned to regular use and visitors were again able to move freely between the Swiss and German sides of the event.

Reporting on the incident was distributed via the dpa news channel, which is how the information reached both Swiss and German media outlets: "Das ist eine Nachricht direkt aus dem dpa-Newskanal." Local outlets in Thurgau and on the German side of Lake Constance carried the police statements throughout the morning.

A summary statement from the authorities: there is no concrete danger to the population, the harbor area has been fully reopened, the cross-border flea market continues to operate normally in the remaining areas, and the Konstanz police investigations are not yet concluded. Residents and visitors were thanked for following the temporary instructions to avoid the closed-off zones.