Lydenburg Standard Bank receives bomb threat

Standard Bank on Voortrekker Street in Lydenburg, Mpumalanga, has received a threat about a possible bomb in the building on Wednesday.

Police spokesperson Captain Alfred Moela confirmed the threat and said that police were on high alert at the scene, Steelburger News reported.

“We are waiting for the bomb squad from Mbombela to come and do a sweep of the entire building.”

According to Deon Broekman, a Hazmat operator, he received a call from a client in the bank right after the threat was made via a telephone call.

The employee who received the call said that it happened about 20 minutes ago.

The building including the Nedbank across the road has since been evacuated and sealed off by Broekman and the local police.

“The bomb squad from Mbombela will do a sweep of the entire building. They will be doing this with sniffer dogs to pick up on any explosives or foreign substances,” Moela said.

Nedbank was also evacuated for safety reasons should there be any truth to the threat made.

Broekman said the sweep will take about two to three hours to conclude. “We are not taking any chances especially with the latest cash in transit bombings that happened on the Lom Tom Pass and on the N4.”

Moela said that the road will be closed until further notice. Residents are urged to stay clear of the building and surrounding areas.

– Caxton News Service

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