Irish media evacuated after hoax bomb threats

Staff were evacuated from RTÉ’s Montrose campus, the Irish Independent’s Dublin offices and the building housing radio stations Newstalk and Today FM on Friday morning. RTÉ interrupted its regular programming.

Newstalk returned to air after staff were allowed back into its building. RTÉ resumed news broadcasts from a mobile unit, and The Journal later reported that the affected outlets were back up and running.

The Irish government described the threats as hoaxes. It said that, following similar threats that had disrupted aviation across Europe, a co-ordinated campaign of disruption seemed likely. It added that who was responsible, and whether the threats came from individuals or a co-ordinated operation, remained unknown.

An email published by Irish radio station Live95 claimed its sender was a leader of the group behind the airline threats. The origin of the email has not been verified, and the claim does not establish a connection between the incidents.

The Journal reported that at least 27 flights had been targeted by threats on Thursday. Irish police, working with the Defence Forces and cyber and aviation authorities, are investigating who was responsible, the government said.