Business Standard

Moscow on lockdown after multiple bomb threats; 20,000 people evacuated

Bomb threat calls were about Moscow's major shopping malls and Russian capital's three largest train stations

Moscow

ANI Moscow

Over 20,000 people have been evacuated from 30 locations including shopping malls, train stations and two universities in Russia's Moscow after simultaneous bomb threats from multiple locations.

Authorities claim to have received "almost simultaneous" warnings, which said, some of Moscow's most popular public places had been rigged with explosives.

"Twenty sites are currently being evacuated, and more than 10,000 people have been escorted out, though the specific number is still being confirmed," TASS quoted the Russian capital's emergencies services, as saying.

"Evacuation has been conducted at 30 facilities, with a total of 20,000 people taken outside. The figure is still being verified," the official said.

 

Largely, bomb threat calls were about Moscow's major shopping malls and Russian capital's three largest train stations - Leningradsky, Kazansky and Kievsky. Also, students and teaching staff were evacuated from the Sechenov Medical University and MGIMO International Relations University.

Authorities are investigating as no explosives have yet been found in any of the locations.

"Each call is being checked. Emergency services are working. Police dogs will be used to track down the bombs," the official said.Police said that most calls had come nearly simultaneously and were still coming in."It seems like telephone terrorism and nothing else, but all the calls should be checked up," TASS quoted an official saying.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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First Published: Sep 13 2017 | 10:57 PM IST

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