Gardai in Waterford City have confirmed that an incident which saw over 300 people being evacuated from a hotel in the city was a hoax.
The confirmation comes after 302 people were forced to leave the Tracey’s Hotel on the Quay, at approximatley 7pm on Thursday evening.
It is understood the mass evacuation occurred after Gardai were alerted to a suspicious device inside the hotel.
However following a search of the hotel, Gardai confirmed that the incident was indeed a hoax and the hotel and its surrounding areas were declared safe.
Gardai say the evacuation occurred after they received a phonecall alerting them to a suspicious device within the building.
They added a mass evacuation was ordered after the caller claimed that the device was due to go off within the next hour, but following an extensive search by the army’s bomb disposal unit it was confirmed that the incident was a hoax.
Gardai say an investigation into the incident is still ongoing.