Ghent railway station. Image obtained from social media. Geo.tv via Ioannis Sgouromitis?/@Sgouromitis

BRUSSELS: Belgian police shot a man armed with a knife at the main railway station in the western city of Ghent on Tuesday and the man was taken to the hospital, state broadcaster VRT said.

Belgium reduced its national threat level on Monday, saying a militant attack had become less likely almost two years after bombings killed 32 people in Brussels.

The government reduced the threat level to two on a four-tier scale, indicating a medium risk. Authorities had been on alert at level three for the serious chance of an attack since the bombings on March 22, 2016.

Local police were not immediately available for comment on the incident in Ghent.