A suspicious package prompted German police to block a train depot in the western city of Cologne on Saturday.  Authorities later said the object had been defused and moved to a secure location.

A cleaner found the device, filled with nails, screws, gunpowder and firecrackers on Friday night near the Deutz train station in the eastern part of the city. The train was out of service and not in a location where passengers could get on board the train, according to a tweet from local police.

Cologne police said that after an analysis from the Criminal Police Office of North-Rhine Westphalia (LKA NRW), they concluded that the device was "extremely unlikely" to cause harm, partly due to the small amount of gunpowder.

"The experts believe that, even if ignited with an ignition device, the nails would only have moved a few centimeters," the authorities said in a statement.

Police tweeted that a search of other trains was ongoing.

The origin of the package was not immediately clear. Police spokesman Thomas Held told German broadcaster n-tv that police were "investigating in all directions."

kbd/dj (dpa, AP, Reuters)