Oktoberfest shut down after explosion leaves one dead

A 'large scale emergency operation is underway'

Police have closed down the fairground around Munich Oktoberfest following a bomb threat and explosion that has killed at least one person.

A bomb threat was issued by a suspected perpetrator of the explosion early this morning (Wednesday 1 October).

The BBC reported that "a large scale emergency operation is underway in Lerchenau".

Police have said that the explosion was linked to a domestic dispute and are searching other areas, including the Oktoberfest grounds.

"For this reason, the opening of the festival grounds has been delayed," said police.

It has not been confirmed whether the deceased person was the suspected perpetrator.

Following the incident, police searched the grounds around Oktoberfest for other explosives, asking workers to leave the area.

Munich is home to Oktoberfest, originally a regional festival which has spread all across the world.

The Bavarian beer offering sees around six million visitors each year.

This year, Oktoberfest began on 20 September, ending on 5 October.

Mayor Dieter Reiter said the Theresienwiese district would remain closed until at least 17:00 (15:00 GMT) on Wednesday because of the bomb threat.