Bomb scares hit over 500 Moscow sites on Feb 25
MOSCOW. Feb 26 (Interfax) - The wave of false bomb threats that began in November of last year is continuing in Moscow, and more than 500 sites were affected on Tuesday, an informed source told Interfax on Wednesday.
"Yesterday, anonymous bomb threats were received by more than 200 educational establishments, several hospitals and polyclinics, more than 20 district courts, all stations of the Moscow metro, the Federation Tower, as well as some other sites. Nearly 15,000 people were evacuated," the source said.
Just as before, the threats were emailed to public facilities. None have been substantiated.
The wave of false bomb threats began in Moscow on November 28, 2019. Sources told Interfax that the total number of evacuees has neared 1.7 million over the past three months.
On Wednesday, a number of schools in Siberia and the Russian Far East, including in Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Vladivostok, and Khabarovsk, have received bomb threats.
The Novosibirsk regional government reported, referencing the regional antiterrorist commission, that security services have not found any bombs in any of the city schools which received bomb threats on Wednesday.
"Buildings are evacuated whenever such threats are received, consistent with current legislation and emergency response protocol. No explosive devices have been found, at the moment," the government said.
It noted that the schools received the bomb threats by email.
Similar threats made in Krasnoyarsk also proved false.
"Anonymous bomb threats were received by more than 50 educational establishments in Krasnoyarsk on February 26, 2020. Students and school staff were evacuated," the report said.
According to the report, all threats proved false.
In Irkutsk, 13 schools received anonymous bomb threats by email on Wednesday morning, a representative of the city administration told Interfax.
"The schools weren't evacuated. Police visited the locations. The situation is being monitored," the representative said.
Later, the Irkutsk region press service reported, citing the regional antiterrorist commission, that "currently, no traces of explosive devices have been found."
The city administration of Ulan-Ude suspended classes in all city schools due to the bomb threats, the press service for the city administration said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Classes were suspended in all city schools after threats to children's lives were received by certain schools by email. Children were evacuated in accordance with instructions," the statement said.
Bomb threats were also received by schools in Blagoveshchensk. Classes resumed following checks, the city administration said in a statement.
"All the city schools that received the bomb threats have been examined. All the threats proved false," the statement said.
Twelve schools in Vladivostok have been evacuated, a representative of the city administration told Interfax.
"Bomb threats were received by schools No. 2, 6, 15, 56, 57, 59, 68, 70, 74, and 76, as well as two Vladivostok grammar schools, No. 1 and 2. Emergency services are at work. The staff and students have been evacuated from the buildings," the representative said.
Bomb threats received by email on Wednesday disrupted classes in Khabarovsk schools, a representative of the city administration told Interfax.
The representative said that bomb threats were made to three schools, without naming the particular educational establishments, so a decision was made to evacuate all city general-education and vocational schools.
The previous mass evacuation of schools in Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur was on February 3, after similar threats were made. The schools were checked by the police, but no bombs were found. That was the second school evacuation in Khabarovsk over the past month.