'Just the beginning' - Chilling contents of bomb threat email sent to RTÉ revealed
Staff from RTÉ and other major Irish media organisations were evacuated on Friday morning following the threat
The contents of a threatening email that sparked evacuations at several major Irish media organisations on Friday morning have emerged, with the sender claiming responsibility for a wave of bomb scares across Europe.
Staff at RTÉ, the Irish Independent, Newstalk and The Irish Mirror were among those forced to leave their workplaces on November 6 after a series of threatening emails were received.
The email, obtained by several publications in Ireland, claimed to have been sent by a member of the group allegedly responsible for recent bomb threats targeting aircraft across Europe.
The sender claimed that the group had deliberately caused widespread panic and forced European authorities to spend significant resources responding to the alerts.
In one particularly alarming section, the sender claimed that an explosive device had been planted inside the recipient's building and would detonate within 45 minutes.
The email concluded with the words, “The clock is ticking”.
The email read,
“Hello. I am Mikhail Andropov, one of the leaders of the group responsible for the bomb threats against airplanes in Europe over the past week.
“European authorities have once again shown that they are incompetent fools who are incapable of doing anything to stop us.
“We experimented with multithreading, and we succeeded in causing widespread panic, as well as forcing European authorities to spend a fortune on all these procedures.
“But this is only the beginning. What happened this week is just a small part of what awaits Europe in the near future.
“Right now, we’re preparing a new wave of attacks. Right now, we’re recruiting residents of your countries who are actively cooperating with us. We’ve also gained access to compromised devices, servers, and accounts belonging to residents of Europe, as well as those outside its borders - which will allow us to use this against you.
“Very soon, we will be blowing up your airplanes, cruise ships, subway stations, and trains. In the meantime, I recommend taking a vacation by plane while you still have the chance.
“We want the whole world to know about us, which is why one of our operatives has planted an explosive device in your building. It will detonate in 45 minutes. The clock is ticking.”
There is no verified evidence supporting the sender's claims, and authorities have not established who was responsible for the message or whether it was connected to the recent aviation threats.
The emails sparked major disruption across Dublin on Friday morning, with Gardaí responding to RTÉ's Montrose campus in Donnybrook and staff evacuating several media buildings.
RTÉ Radio One's normal broadcasting schedule was interrupted, with prerecorded music replacing scheduled programming before presenter David McCullagh resumed broadcasting from a temporary mobile studio.
Newstalk and Today FM were also affected by the security alerts, although staff were subsequently permitted to return to their building.
In a statement, An Garda Síochána confirmed it was aware of threats made against media organisations in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe.
Gardaí said they were liaising with the affected organisations and that the threats would be investigated.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has also condemned the incidents, confirming that authorities are working to identify those responsible.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio One, Mr Martin said it had not yet been established whether the threats were the work of individuals or part of a coordinated campaign.
He stressed that the safety of the public remained the priority and that those responsible would be pursued.
The developments follow a week of disruption across European aviation, with dozens of flights targeted by bomb threats, including Aer Lingus and Ryanair services.
Investigations into the threats are continuing.