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Schools Evacuated After Threatening Phone Calls In Victoria And NZ

The phone calls could originate from overseas.
It's believed the evacuated students are from primary schools.
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It's believed the evacuated students are from primary schools.

A number of schools have been evacuated in Victoria and New Zealand after receiving threatening phone calls.

By midday, it was shown to be a hoax.

Police did not confirm how many schools were been evacuated but media reports suggest the evacuated Victorian schools were in Portland, Hamilton, Traralgon, Ballarat and Bendigo.

In New Zealand, meanwhile, police confirmed a similar spate of threatening phone calls and said they could originate from overseas.

"It is believed, based on the information available to us at this time, that today's calls may be similar to those received earlier this year, which inquiries indicated originated overseas," the statement read.

"We should make it clear that while such calls may display a New Zealand number, they can still be originating from overseas.

"Until police can rule out any actual threat, we must take all these calls seriously and respond accordingly."

Victorian police said the calls were similar to the hoax calls made on February 2, 2016 and February 25, 2016.

Anyone with information relating to Victoria is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report.

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