Durban mall open for business after Woolies bomb scare

Woolworths confirmed on Thursday afternoon that no explosive devices had been found at its Cornubia Mall outlet following a bomb scare earlier in the day.

In a statement‚ the retailer said the mall‚ north of Durban‚ had been evacuated when police received a tip-off about a potential suspicious device in its store.

"As a precautionary measure‚ we evacuated our store‚ along with all the other stores in the mall‚ to ensure the safety of our people and our customers. Authorities investigated and did not find anything suspicious. The mall and our store have been reopened for trade‚" spokesperson Kirsten Hewitt said.

She said Woolworths took the recent incidents at its stores in KwaZulu-Natal "extremely seriously".

In the past week several incendiary devices were planted at other Woolworths stores in the city as well as at the Vodacom Durban July.These devices‚ rudimentary in nature‚ have been triggered and caused minor fires.

"We are doing all that we can to ensure the safety of our people and our customers. Due to the sensitivity of the investigation we are unable to divulge the additional protection and detection measures we have put in place in our stores.

"We continue to work closely with the relevant authorities who are providing input and guidance‚" Hewitt said on Thursday.

National police spokesman Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said: "We received a call about a suspicious item."

Naidoo refused to name the store where the "item" had been discovered.

"Our experts‚ including the dog units and explosive unit‚ were dispatched on scene to sweep the entire area‚" he added.