Bomb scare in Mall of the Emirates

A loud noise in the parking lot of Mall of the Emirates triggered a bomb alert, pressing a special bomb detection squad and sniffer dogs from Dubai Police into action.

A security guard heard a loud noise in the parking lot which he thought to be an explosion and informed the mall management, who called the police, reported 7 Days.

However, it turned out to be a case of 'false alarm' as police cordoned off the parking lot and combed the area for hours without finding anything suspicious.

An official in the Criminal Investigation Department in Dubai Police confirmed that the bomb squad was called in with sniffer dogs and the parking area was sealed off after the guard sparked panic.

However, the police suspect the noise was either a car backfiring or a vehicle crash.

The police officer said: “Our command room received a call from the mall about a bomb threat on Saturday afternoon claiming that a security guard heard a loud noise and he thought it was a bomb so we rushed to the mall immediately."

The official said a number of shoppers gathered to watch the cops comb the area and rumours began spreading about a bomb threat.

“We eventually discovered that the security guard heard a big noise and thought it was an explosion but we suspect it was an accident with cars crashing or a vehicle backfiring.

The parking area was re-opened after the area was deemed free of any threat.

The alert came as football legend Diego Maradona was in the mall meeting fans.

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