A bomb exploded at the Brussels Institute of Criminology

A bomb exploded at the Brussels Institute of Criminology in the north of Brussels on Monday but the building was empty and no one was wounded, broadcaster RTL said.

A car rammed through the barriers at about 3 a.m. local time and one or more attackers exploded a bomb near the laboratories which caught fire, RTL said.

Police have been deployed and sealed off the area.

The lab is based in a suburb north of Brussels called Neder-Over-Hembeek.

The institute carries of carries out forensic investigations in criminal cases and is tied to the Ministry of Justice, according to a report in the Guardian.

The Belgian city of Brussels, which houses the main administrative buildings of the European Union, has been on high alert since March, when 32 people were killed in a co-ordinated terrorist attack on its airport and underground train network.