Home · World · Nov 11 archive
Bomb Threat Emails Disrupt European Schools and Airports
· Confirmed
In Short: European schools and airports received bomb threats via email, leading to evacuations and flight diversions.
European schools and airports received bomb threats via email, leading to evacuations and flight diversions. According to ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos and the Luxembourg Times, schools in Ireland, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, as well as 312 schools in Italy, were affected. The threats prompted evacuations in Italy, with Italian Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara confirming that 312 schools had been evacuated.
In Italy, the threats were particularly disruptive, with over 6,300 schools receiving emails warning of imminent explosions, according to the Los Angeles Times. The BBC reported that some schools, like one in Rome, evacuated students, while others, such as a school in Milan, did not evacuate after recognizing the email as spam.
The threats extended beyond schools to include newsrooms and commercial flights. ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos and the Los Angeles Times reported that bomb threats were sent to newsrooms, including Sky in the UK and media organizations in Ireland. The Luxembourg Times noted that the threats were likely aimed at generating alarm and concern.
Flights were also affected, with the BBC reporting that El Al and LOT flights were diverted after receiving bomb threats. The Luxembourg Times and the Los Angeles Times reported that security sweeps found nothing, leading authorities to suspect a coordinated hoax targeting European airports.
The threats were also directed at newsrooms and flights in other European countries. Politico reported that bomb threats targeted at least 18 European flights on Friday, following at least 22 the day before. The threats were likely part of a coordinated campaign to disrupt air traffic.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni stated that there was no indication of any concrete danger to schools and that the threats appeared aimed at generating alarm and concern. She said investigations were underway and that she had called a meeting of ministers for later Wednesday.
The threats also affected newsrooms, with RTÉ in Dublin evacuating its staff after receiving a threat warning that a bomb would explode within 45 minutes. Sky in the UK was one of several newsrooms that received bomb threats.
The Italian Education Ministry said the email threat was received by over 6,300 schools, but it was not immediately known how many had been evacuated. The BBC reported that some schools evacuated students, while others did not evacuate after recognizing the email as spam.
The threats prompted evacuations and flight diversions, with Italian authorities evacuating hundreds of schools and security sweeps finding nothing on diverted flights. The threats were likely part of a coordinated campaign to disrupt air traffic.
The threats were met with concern and skepticism. The Los Angeles Times reported that Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said there was no indication of any concrete danger to schools and that the threats appeared aimed at generating alarm and concern.
The threats also affected newsrooms and flights in other European countries, with Politico reporting that bomb threats targeted at least 18 European flights on Friday, following at least 22 the day before. The threats were likely part of a coordinated campaign to disrupt air traffic.
Background
Schools across Italy were evacuated Wednesday after receiving bomb threat emails.
The European Schools is an intergovernmental organisation, which has established, financed, and administered a small group of multilingual international schools, bearing the title "European School", which exist primarily to offer an education to the children of European Union (EU) staff from the maternel to the higher years of education; offers accreditation to other schools, bearing the title "Accredited European School", under national jurisdiction within EU member states to provide its curriculum; and oversees the provision of the secondary school leaving diploma, the European Baccalaureate.
What's confirmed
- Schools in Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland received similar threats, but no evacuations were reported.
- Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said there was no indication of any “concrete danger” to schools and that the threats appeared aimed at “generating alarm and concern.” She said investigations were underway and that she had called a meeting of ministers for later Wednesday.
- Police in Northern Ireland said they were conducting “urgent inquiries” after a threatening email was sent to hundreds of schools.
- MILAN — Italian authorities evacuated hundreds of schools Wednesday after an emailed bomb threat, the latest in a series of disruptions affecting European institutions following recent hoaxes aimed at airlines and broadcasters.
What's still developing
- Officials in the Colombian capital Bogotá announced Thursday they were investigating whether a city health agency’s email account was compromised or spoofed after it was identified in a bomb hoax email sent to a European airport.
- At Rome’s Mamiani high school, students poured into the streets thinking the alarm was the recess bell and only learned there was a bomb threat after they were outside.
Sources
- ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videoslink
- Luxembourg Timeslink
- Jfeedlink
- Kyivpostlink
- Therecordlink
- Moroccoworldnewslink
- Los Angeles Timeslink
- Enlink
- Arabnewslink
- Al Jazeeralink
- Politicolink
- Euronewslink
- WarpBeat — background on Italian Schools Evacuated After Bomb Threat Emails link
- Wikipedia — background on European Schools link