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German police closed the Oktoberfest fairgrounds and fanned out with sniffer dogs on Wednesday following a bomb threat from the suspected perpetrator of an explosion in northern Munich, authorities said.

 

Police in Bavaria, the state where Munich is located, said the suspect was believed to be a 57-year-old German citizen who, according to preliminary findings, had committed suicide near a lake in northern Munich.

 

The suspect, who had been living in the town of Starnberg south of the city, had been carrying a backpack containing an explosive device, the Bavaria police statement said.

 

City police said the blast before dawn at a residential building, which had been deliberately set on fire, appeared connected to a domestic dispute.

 

During the initial investigation, a letter written by the suspect and found near the crime scene contained a “non-specific” threat of explosives related to Oktoberfest.

 

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The suspect's 81-year-old mother and 21-year-old daughter, who is a German-Brazilian dual national, were injured in the incident and had been hospitalised for treatment, the statement added.

 

Specialised teams were called to the scene to defuse booby traps in the residential building, police said. Photos from the area also showed a burned-out van.

 

At the Oktoberfest site across town, police asked workers to leave the area. Authorities said the festival will be closed at least until 5 pm local time (1500 GMT) Wednesday.

 

Images from the Oktoberfest grounds showed police in fluorescent vests patrolling nearly-barren pavement near rollercoasters and other rides and attractions that are part of the world's largest beer festival, which usually attracts up to 6 million visitors.

 

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said searches were being conducted with sniffer dogs and technological tools at the Oktoberfest site, and Bavaria police said more than 500 officers were deployed.

 

This year's Oktoberfest began on September 20 and is set to end on Sunday.

 

In 1980, Oktoberfest was the target of a deadly neo-Nazi attack. The bombing on the evening of September 26, 1980, claimed 13 lives, including that of three children and the attacker, student Gundolf Koehler, a supporter of a banned far-right group. More than 200 people were wounded.