Hoax bomb threats force RTÉ to evacuate, disrupt newsrooms across Europe

Emailed bomb threats warning that "the clock is ticking" reached TV stations across Europe on Friday, Nov. 6. Ireland's RTÉ, Britain's Sky and Bulgaria's Nova TV were among those targeted, and some stations evacuated staff and suspended programming, Reuters reported. No bombs were found at any site. The threats spread a week of hoax alerts against European airlines to a new kind of target: newsrooms.reuters.com

Ireland's newsrooms emptied

RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst said the email arrived at about 8:33 a.m. Management called the gardaí and decided "to put the safety of the staff first and evacuate the buildings," RTÉ reported. Bakhurst called it "a disgraceful attack on the media, on free media." The email warned that a bomb would go off within 45 minutes, presenter Sarah McInerney said, according to the BBC. RTÉ replaced its programmes with music and a pre-recorded message, some for as long as three hours. Staff went back in after police finished a sweep that took more than three hours.rte.ie+2

The Irish Independent and Newstalk also evacuated for a time. Newstalk presenter Claire Byrne told listeners the warning had been judged a hoax. Virgin Media Television got the same email but said it "remained on air throughout and no evacuation took place". Sky, which is owned by Comcast ↘ 1.24%, said it had "carried out a security assessment and reported the matter to the relevant authorities". In Sofia, police searched Nova's newsroom, found nothing and declared it safe, and the station stayed on air.bbc.com+2

An unverified signature

The emails to RTÉ and Nova were signed "Mikhail Andropov." The writer said he was one of the leaders of the group behind this week's plane hoaxes and added that "this is only the beginning." Reuters noted the shared surname with Soviet leader Yuri Andropov, but said it was unclear whether this pointed to Russian involvement or was an attempt to blame Moscow. Some of the earlier airline threats were signed by "fighters of the Male State." That name matches a far-right movement in Russia, but AFP has not confirmed any link.afp.com+1

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said it was not yet known whether individuals or a "coordinated attack" were behind the threats. Tánaiste Simon Harris said, "We don't yet know who is responsible." The Irish government said in a statement that "it seems likely that this is a co-ordinated campaign of disruption".rte.ie+1

Airline hoaxes continue

Flights were targeted again on Friday. A Wizz Air flight from Prague to Rome was diverted to Venice, and Hungary sent fighter jets to monitor a flight from Prague to Larnaca. The day before, the hoaxes had hit dozens of flights, including Ryanair ↗ 1.18% and Aer Lingus International Consolidated Airlines Group, S.A. planes. The threats also arrive just before a week in which Ireland will host two European summits as part of its EU Council presidency.knews.kathimerini.com.cy+2

"We have to remain calm," Martin said.reuters.com