THE Management and Staff of National Communications Network (NCN) and the Government Information Agency (GINA) were forced to vacate their shared compound on Homestretch Avenue after a mid-day bomb threat to NCN, yesterday. Editor-in-Chief of NCN, Mr. Michael Gordon, said the receptionist received an anonymous call at around 11:45 hrs from a person who indicated that there was a bomb on the premises, but declined to specify where on the large premises the explosive device was situated.
Gordon noted that Senior Management was hastily notified and they went into emergency mode immediately. The Guyana Police Force and the Fire Service were called in while staff members were simultaneously being evacuated. He noted that the media house took the incident with a significant degree of seriousness, regardless of whether it was a hoax or not, and that NCN would not down-play the seriousness of such an occurrence.
He noted that the security system employed by the two bodies was competent and NCN also had their internal security mechanisms in place though he could not go into detail about these.
Continuing, he noted that the bomb scare caused NCN to miss their midday news cast and drop a few advertisements that were being aired during the broadcast of cricket, but these effects were minimal. He noted that Channel 11, Voice of Guyana (VOG), and 98.1 FM were not off the air during the operation, as NCN has put mechanisms in place so that incidents such as the scare would not affect its day-to-day operations, as well as mechanisms to ensure the utmost security for staffers.
Head of GINA Mr. Neaz Subhan, who was with staff members waiting for the go-ahead to re-enter the complex, noted that there were no hitches concerning evacuation of the premises and that the police responded in a timely manner. (Michelle Gonsalves)