Russian police said early on Wednesday they had received multiple bomb threats in the World Cup host city of Rostov-on-Don, causing bars and restaurants to be evacuated across the city.
“On June 26, police received a series of phone calls about explosives planted at locations in Rostov-on-Don,” local police said in a statement.
“Police forces made all the necessary checks and no dangerous objects were found. Currently, all the venues are operating normally.”
Authorities have vowed to host a safe World Cup and any security incidents involving fans could jeopardise Moscow’s efforts. A policeman at the Topos Congress-Hotel in Rostov-on-Don, which was evacuated at around 20.00 GMT on Tuesday, also said 16 venues had been evacuated across the city as part of a drill. On the other side of the city, a manager at the Luciano Italian restaurant said staff had been told to evacuate the building for around two hours after receiving a bomb threat.
“There was a phone call, an anonymous phone call, they said there was a bomb in the building,” said the manager, who declined to give their name because they were not authorised to speak to the media.