By Elesha George
Residents looked on with curiosity as law enforcement officers cordoned off access to the old headquarters of the Antigua Public Utility Authority (APUA) in Cassada Gardens, after a mysterious caller threatened to bomb the building.
The threat had temporarily stopped operations at the facility which also houses the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Energy, whose employees were also affected and evacuated on Wednesday morning.
The essential workers were forced to leave the building when an unknown individual contacted the office shortly after 9:00 am, advising those inside to immediately vacate the premises.
According to Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector Frankie Thomas, the Disposal Unit within the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda (RPFAB) responded to the incident and ultimately gave the “all clear” for all employees to “resume normal functions.”
Sharifa George, APUA’s Public Relations Officer said that the “all clear” was given about an hour-and-a-half later, at 10:30 am.
The is the second time this month that an unknown person has threatened to detonate a bomb at a government statutory office. On October 3, police responded to a bomb threat at the Antigua and Barbuda Social Security Board’s Long Street location, interrupting an otherwise ordinary day.
But Thomas told Observer that these incidents will be investigated on their own merit and were not being linked at this time. He said it was also too soon to determine whether it was becoming “a trend.”
He, however, warned those making the calls that it was a “dangerous practice” that needed to stop.
In the meantime, he said the APUA building has been swept “thoroughly” and that customers have no reason to be concerned.
“At the end of the day, I’m not saying that something can’t go wrong,” he said, but noted the confidence that the police had in their special forces to deal with diffusing a potentially real situation.
Sharifa George also told Observer that all employees have since returned to work.