Telefonica Building Evacuated In Bomb Scare

Spanish national police have evacuated the iconic Telefonica building as well as other landmark buildings around it after receiving a bomb threat that later turned out to be fake.

The incident took place in the capital at around 2pm on 26th December.

Local media said the police got a call claiming there was a bomb placed inside  the Telefonica Building on Gran Via Street.

The Spanish National Police evacuated the building along with several shops on the surrounding Fuencarral Street but did not tell locals about the alleged bomb attack, according to reports.

Both Gran Via and Fuencarral are among the most important shopping areas in the capital and are often visited by tourists for their ambundance of shops and stylish boutiques.

Cops searched the building and confirmed that the bomb threat was fake before allowing citizens back in and the local shops to reopen.

The authorities are now investigating the incident to find out who made the call, but there have been no further reports on any arrests.

The Telefonica building, Europe’s tallest skyscraper at the time of its construction in 1929, serves as the flagship store for the Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica. The building also has an auditorium and a telecommunications museum.

Due to its 90 metre height it was used as an artillery observatory post by the Republican forces during the Nationalist advance on the city during the Spanish Civil War of 1936 – 1939.