Kiev Subway Evacuated After Hoax Threat Ahead of Champions League Final
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) Kiev police say they evacuated five stations on the city's subway network after a hoax caller warned of bomb attacks.
Ahead of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, police checked the stations and ''dangerous items were not found.''
Subway operations are now back to normal.
The police say they're now hunting the hoax caller.
Besides the bomb scare, police have so far registered 26 crimes involving foreigners, whether as victims or perpetrators.
That includes 10 cases of theft, three of hooliganism and two of fraud. Other foreigners were fined for causing a road accident and drinking in public.
Police earlier detained two people after Liverpool fans were attacked at a restaurant on Thursday, leaving two injured.
Crowds and Atmosphere in Kiev
Fans are thronging the center of Kiev after many experienced travel problems.
Flight cancellations meant more than 1,000 Liverpool supporters could not leave Britain, while soaring accommodation prices persuaded roughly the same number of Madrid fans to have their ticket money refunded rather than travel to Ukraine.
Organizer UEFA has said refunded tickets will be made available to locals but there is likely to be the unusual sight of empty seats at a Champions League final.
Those fans who did make it are largely positive about Kiev, where the beer is cheap and a festival atmosphere is apparent in the city center.
Madrid fans Fabino Mohino and Yago Saez said they spent about 750 euros ($875) apiece on flights and traveled for 20 hours through Barcelona.
''We were lucky to have a friend of a friend in the suburbs,'' Mohino said, meaning they could dodge Kiev hotel prices which are as much as $2,000 a night.
''Loving it,'' added Saez, who has attended six of the last seven Champions League finals. ''So far, so good.''
Security is tight in Kiev, with police lining the center, which has been closed to traffic. That seems to have prevented repeats of Thursday night's attack on Liverpool fans at a restaurant - apparently by Ukrainian hooligans - which left two injured.
