Police on scene after several hostages taken by ‘armed’ man in eastern Dutch town of Ede

A hostage situation in a nightclub in the eastern Dutch town of Ede unfolded on Saturday 30 March.

Three people have been released, police said in a statement.

Onlookers gathered near the establishment where a gunman was taking several people hostage and threatened to detonate a bomb, media reports said.

It was unclear how many people were still being held after three employees were seen by reporters fleeing the area with their hands above their heads.

There was no indication of a terrorist motive, police said, as special units were deployed to the scene.

Ede is a rural market town 53 miles south east of Amsterdam.