The threat of an "imminent" terror attack by ISIS that prompted the closure of two subway stations in Munich on New Year's Eve was not a hoax, security officials said Friday, as police remain on high alert.
Evacuations of the Hauptbahnhof central station, Munich's main train station, and the Pasing hub started around 10:40 p.m. Thursday after local authorities were tipped off about five to seven ISIS militants planning to launch a New Year's Eve attack, according to the New York Daily News.
"There is the danger of an attack in the area of munich, please keep away from crowds, avoid the central station and the rail station pasing," the police department tweeted at the time.
There is the danger of an attack in the area of munich, please keep away from crowds, avoid the central station and the rail station pasing.
— Polizei München (@PolizeiMuenchen) December 31, 2015
Police launched an "intensive investigation" as part of an attempt to the locate the suspects but failed to locate them, prompting them to re-open the subway station five hours after the search began.
"After intensive investigations we can say that we don't have any insights about these individuals," Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said, according to Bloomberg. "Measures haven't led to any concrete evidence for the warnings, that's why we could reopen the stations for traffic."
Despite not having any "concrete evidence" in regards to the warnings, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann still cautioned that Germany, and Europe as a whole, still remain on high alert following the Paris terror attacks, according to The Belfast Telegraph.
Germany, in particular, has been on high alert ever since the attacks. Warnings of a possible imminent attack prompted Brussels to issue a five-day lockdown. Since then, authorities have launched an unprecedented number of police raids that have lead to the arrests of 10 people believed to be connected to the Paris attacks on varying levels, ABC News reported.
Most recently, two suspects were arrested in Brussels on suspicion of plotting to attack "emblematic sites" during New Year's Eve, prompting the city to cancel festivities entirely as a result.
Authorities will continue to evaluate the situation accordingly as it moves forward.
