The Minister for Foreign Affairs has been rushed from an event in Belfast due to a security alert.
A hijacked van was abandoned outside the venue he was attending.
Minister Coveney says he's saddened and frustrated someone has been attacked and victimised in this way and thanked the PSNI.
Reporter Sarah McKinley is at the scene.
She says a hijacked van was parked outside the venue she was attending for Minister Coveney's talk.
Two workmen appeared at the door, "visibly shaken" having been forced from their vehicle.
That van was parked nearby with a "suspect device in it."
Minister Coveney was "bundled" into his car and whisked away by his security.
Other attendees were ushered out to a 400 metre exclusion zone.
Sarah says the bomb squad has arrived and the community is in "deep shock."
BREAKING: A loud bang that shook the ground has been heard here on the Crumlin Road. Bomb technicians have been here to carry out a controlled explosion on a device left in a hijacked van outside Holy Cross Monestary. @newsoncool @newsondowntown @NewstalkFM pic.twitter.com/e0qWlzW2dP
— Sarah McKinley (@Sarah_McKinley_) March 25, 2022
This is a breaking story.
