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Melburnians in one suburb held their breath as a dramatic situation unfolded involving police teams and a bomb-defusing robot.
Parts of Moonee Ponds, in the city’s northern hinterland, were closed on Saturday, with trams diverted and police blocking streets following a reported bomb threat, which turned out to be a hoax.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said authorities were alerted to reports of a suspicious device in the early afternoon, and officers from the Bomb Response Unit attended the scene on Ascot Vale Rd.
Photos from the scene showed a bomb disposal robot advancing toward the suspicious package, followed by officers in full protective gear. Shortly after 4 p.m., the area was deemed safe.
Melbourne Police deployed their bomb disposal robot on Saturday afternoon to a dramatic scene at Moonee Ponds.
Heavily armored police were also deployed in the incident, which turned out to be a hoax.
Images shared on social media questioned why there were police “everywhere.”
During the operation, a 260m stretch of Ascot Vale Rd between Moonee Ponds Junction and Gladstone St was closed.
The route 59 tram stopped between stop 27 Essendon Tram Depot and stop 41 Essendon station, while the route 82 tram was diverted via Union Rd.
Locals held their breath and stayed out of the incident area while traffic and trams were diverted from the area.
Police said the incident was confirmed to be a hoax and declared the area safe around 4 p.m.
RTE bus 477 was also diverted to Buckley St, Pascoe Vale Rd and Fletcher St for approximately two and a half hours.
In August 2017, a similar scare caused traffic chaos for about four hours, after a bus driver alerted police about a suspicious package on his bus.
Authorities deployed a bomb disposal robot to investigate the package, however the scene was declared safe following a large-scale police operation.