Bomb scare hoax at Clearwater Mall

Clearwater Mall was evacuated following a threat that there were four bombs planted at the mall. According to police spokesperson Lieutenant Kay Makhubela, a man called the mall just after 9.30 am on Monday 2 March. “The man called the mall reception and said he had planted four bombs in the mall,” explained Lt Makhubela.

“He said one bomb was planted in the centre management offices and the other three were somewhere in the mall,” continued Lt Makhubela.

Reports on the ground suggested that the alleged bomb planter demanded R4 million from the centre management but Makhubela gave a diffrent account. “The man said he wanted R100 000 and, in exchange, he will tell where the bombs were planted.”

It is understood that after demanding the money, the man said he will call back after 10 minutes but he never called back.

For more than five hours, the police’s K9 Unit and the Bomb Squad searched through the mall, hoping to find the bombs but nothing was found.

Scary as the threat was, one of the customers, Daleen Viljoen, applauded the centre management for handling the evacuation process so well. “If they didn’t handle it well, we could have easily ended up with a stampede,”said Viljoen. “They made sure that all were informed and also directed us where to go,” added Viljoen.

Viljoen was among hundreds of shoppers who didn’t have the time to pack their belongings or complete their shopping. “My car is still parked in there, I’m waiting for someone to fetch me and I can get the car later.”

One of the employees at the mall, Lebogang Hamese, said as they walked out of the shops, they were fearing for their lives. “A bomb can go off at anytime, as I was walking out, I prayed that it must at least go off when we are outside,” said Hamese.

The centre management could not be reached for comment.