About two dozen patients and staff members were evacuated from the Sundre Medical Clinic at noon Monday after a bomb threat was phoned in to the facility, said Sundre RCMP Cpl. Ryan Hodge.
“The person made a threat that there was an explosive or would be an explosive,” Hodge said at the scene. “No explosive was found. It is our belief that there was never any explosive in the building.
“Everything has been checked by us and the staff that work there saw nothing out of the ordinary.”
The STARS air ambulance had just arrived at the hospital when the threat was received, prompting police to ground the helicopter on the pad for about an hour while the clinic was searched.
“That was for their own safety and as a precaution,” he said.
Sundre firefighters and Sundre police blocked off all access to the hospital grounds shortly after the threat was received. There were no reports of injuries.
Shortly before 1 p.m. the all-clear was given for staff to return.
The STARS helicopter was able to take off with its patient shortly after 1 p.m.
Sundre physician Dr. Robert Warren said there were about two dozen patients and staff in the facility when the evacuation order was received. Most of the patients and staff were taken to the Sundre Hospital and Care Centre, which is attached to the facility through a hallway corridor.
Plans were being made to evacuate the hospital itself when the all-clear was given.
Sundre RCMP is conducting an investigation to determine who called in the threat, said Cpl. Hodge.
“We will continue our investigation to determine who was responsible for making this phone call. It is a very serious offence to make a bomb threat, especially to a hospital because peoples' lives could have been put in jeopardy if they had to be moved from critical care,” he said.
Anyone with information about the bomb threat is being asked to call Sundre RCMP at 403-638-3675 or Crime Stoppers.
