A letter bomb has exploded at the offices of the Swiss nuclear energy association, injuring two people, police have said.

"/> A letter bomb has exploded at the offices of the Swiss nuclear energy association, injuring two people, police have said.

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TERRORISM

Bomb explodes at Swiss nuclear office

A letter bomb has exploded at the offices of the Swiss nuclear energy association, injuring two people, police have said.

A letter bomb has exploded at the offices of the Swiss nuclear energy association, injuring two people, police have said.

The letter exploded at the offices of Swissnuclear in the northern town of Olten, a police spokesman said. Both victims suffered superficial wounds.

“At about 8.15 am, while opening the letter, it exploded,” injuring two people, a spokesman for police in the canton of Solothurn told AFP.


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“One person was hurt in the arm,” he said, without giving details about the identities of the victims.

No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Swissnuclear is the nuclear energy offshoot of the Swiss power industry association. It groups major power generating firms in Switzerland, according to the association’s website. Swissnuclear was not immediately available for comment.

The entrance of the office building, located in the centre of Olten, as well as a part of the street, were blocked off by police.

No damage was visible from the exterior of the building, which was surrounded by police cars.

Thursday’s incident occurred as around 30 Greenpeace protestors held a demonstration a few hundred metres away, outside the headquarters of Swiss power firm Alpiq.

But the group quickly suspended its demonstration following the blast, distancing itself from the letter bomb.

“We distance ourselves with the greatest firmness from this explosion.

Greenpeace has nothing to do with this attack,” Florian Kasser, who heads Greenpeace’s energy campaign in Switzerland, told AFP.

“The demonstration has now been suspended,” he added.

In a statement, Greenpeace said the demonstration was being held to demand Alpiq formally withdraw a request to build new nuclear power plants in Switzerland, which has suspended plans to replace its ageing reactors following Japan’s nuclear disaster.

In an interview with a Swiss newspaper, Heinz Karrer, who heads Swiss energy group Axpo, acknowledged that “at the moment, it is unthinkable to talk about another new nuclear power plant.”

CRIME

Hoax bomb threats against French airports ‘traced to Swiss email’

Repeated bomb threats against dozens of French airports which led to evacuations and flight cancellations have been 'traced to an email address in Switzerland', according to French authorities.

Hoax bomb threats against French airports 'traced to Swiss email'

More than 70 bomb threats have been made against French airports in the past week, leading to evacuations at dozens of airports and at least 130 flights cancelled.

Most of the alerts were triggered by emails warning of a bomb in the airport – more than 70 such emails have been received by airports around the country such as Toulouse, Bordeaux, Paris Beauvais, Marseille and dozens of smaller airports – including Basel-Mulhouse on the Franco-Swiss border. 

On Sunday French Transport Minister Clément Beaune said that “almost all of the threats have been traced to the same email address, situated in Switzerland”.

He added: “Since Wednesday, it is almost always the same email address that is used, located outside the European Union, in Switzerland”.

He called on hosting sites to help the French authorities, saying: “Everyone has a responsibility, including the platforms and social networks, not to support this kind of attack and to cooperate as quickly as possible with the French civil aviation authorities and our justice system.”

In France, the maximum penalty for making a hoax bomb threat is two years in jail and a €30,000 fine.

As well as airport evacuations and flight disruption, French tourist sites have also been hit with bomb hoaxes – the Palace of Versailles has been evacuated seven times in the past week.

It comes in the context of a tense situation in France as the country raised its terror alert to maximum after an apparent Islamist attack on Friday, October 13th in which a teacher was killed and two others wounded.

Security at large events such as the Rugby World Cup matches has been stepped up. 

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