People have been evacuated from the area around the Plaza Shopping Complex in Bisazza Street, Sliema due to a bomb threat.

A police spokesperson confirmed the news to The Malta Independent at around 4pm, saying that they were informed of the situation only minutes prior.

The shopping complex is currently being evacuated while a team from the Explosive Ordinance Department is on the way to the site to comb the building for a bomb, the spokesperson said.

Eyewitnesses at the scene said that Bisazza Street had been cordoned off while the shops opposite the shopping complex had also been told to evacuate and close their shutters.

It is not the first time that the shopping complex has had to be evacuated due to a bomb threat: back in December 2014, an anonymous caller had said that they had left a bomb in a McDonalds outlet in Sliema.

Since there were two McDonalds outlets in Sliema at the time – one at the Plaza and one at Tigne – both were evacuated.  Searches however yielded nothing.