The Modena Court was evacuated owing to a bomb threat, the presence of which was confirmed via an anonymous phone call.
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| The Court of Modena (Tribunale Di Modena), Italy |
After a bomb fear, the Modena courthouse was evacuated about 9.45 a.m. today. An anonymous phone call claimed the existence of an undefined explosive, which activated the security routine. ModenaToday reintroduces it.
The proceedings that were taking place inside the building on Corso Canalgrande in Modena were immediately halted, and everyone inside was removed and hauled out onto the street.
The Police Flying team, as well as a Fire Brigade team and 118 workers, arrived on the scene and conducted the initial checks inside and outside the building.
To allow firemen to search safely, the route was blocked to traffic.
Soon after, Digos agents and the bomb squad arrived and used canine units to search all of the rooms in the building.
Following almost three hours of traffic jams in the region, the safety device was removed about 12.30 p.m., and the road system, as well as Court business, restored to normal, despite some sessions being postponed.
Detectives are looking for the identify of the individual who made the anonymous phone call.
The purported bomb threat submitted to the Modena court this morning is merely the most recent of several such incidents that have happened in various Italian towns in recent days.
The most recent came on February 23 in front of the Pisa court, when a device was discovered leaning against one of the structure's parking entries by several passers-by, who reported it to the police.
It would have been a crude device, consisting of a plastic bottle filled with flammable liquid and a camping stove: the flame would have gone out before the gas explosion and subsequent fire, which would have spread in front of the royal door.
An anonymous phone call to a Turin post office two days earlier had indicated a fake bomb threat. The alarm was removed when the police bomb squad clearance failed and the evacuated staff were free to return again to the building.