San Pedro health centre evacuated over abandoned suitcase. Police confirm false alarm

An abandoned suitcase found near the health centre in San Pedro de Alcántara (Marbella) led police to evacuate the building and a neighbouring nursery school on Thursday. According to Diario Sur, police sources confirmed it was a false alarm and normality returned after checks.

The case matters for patients and families in the area because roads were closed and a health facility was emptied as a precaution.

Key facts

• Where: the health centre on calle Príncipe de Asturias, San Pedro de Alcántara, Marbella.
• Cordon: police sealed off a perimeter of about 100 metres, according to Diario Sur.
• Also evacuated: the Escuela Infantil Nueva Colonia, next door, between calles Doctor Eduardo Evangelista and San Javier.
• Outcome: police sources said the suitcase posed no danger.

What happened

Diario Sur reported, citing health sources, that a patient probably raised the alarm about the suitcase. The Policía Nacional (National Police) activated its protocol for such incidents. Several public safety patrols attended, supported by the Policía Local (local police), and restricted pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Officers ordered a full evacuation of the health centre, covering staff, patients and other users, as well as the nursery school. The road linking the San Pedro boulevard with the cemetery also stayed closed near the cemetery and Virgen del Rocío, Diario Sur said.

TEDAX bomb disposal specialists and sniffer dog handlers inspected the suitcase until they confirmed it was not dangerous. The cordon was then lifted and the buildings reopened.

The Olive Press, in a brief report, said the suitcase was stuffed full of papers, and that the National Police declared the alert over. That detail comes from a headline only, and Diario Sur did not describe the contents. SUR in English also described the alarm as false.

A run of similar alerts

Diario Sur said police sources reported a separate suspicious package alert in Estepona the same day. The protocol was activated there too and it also proved a false alarm.

The incident follows a near-identical one in Málaga city on Monday, when another abandoned suitcase in the city centre led police to cordon off the area until they verified there was no danger.

Diario Sur linked the alerts to a wider climate across Spain. It cited the explosion of a rucksack in Oviedo, which killed a National Police officer and injured another, and evacuations in Italy over bomb warnings. It said bomb disposal units have been called out since early in the week, especially in Andalucía and Madrid. On Thursday morning, police carried out a controlled detonation of a rucksack beside Seville cathedral, which held nothing dangerous. The Guardia Civil also attended reports near a school in Arganda del Rey and a petrol station in Galapagar. Diario Sur said all ended without harm.

What it means for residents

Police responded with full precautions to each report, and no danger was found in San Pedro. Anyone who sees an unattended bag is generally expected to report it to the authorities rather than touch it. The sources do not say whether anyone was hurt in San Pedro.