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Skyscraper housing Australia, UK embassies in Madrid evacuated after bomb threat

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MADRID (Reuters) - A skyscraper housing embassies in Madrid was evacuated on Tuesday after a bomb threat was received by telephone at the Australian embassy there, a police spokeswoman said.

The 57-storey, 235-metre (770-ft) high Torre Espacio, one of four towers located in the Spanish capital's financial district, also houses the embassies of Britain and Canada.

A British embassy spokeswoman said its staff had been evacuated around midday (1000 GMT) and were safely outside the building.

The Australian embassy said on Twitter: "The @AusEmbEsp will remain close for the rest of today, Tuesday 16 April, until further notice. Apologies for any inconvenience."

TV footage showed a police cordon and fire trucks outside the building.

"The usual emergency protocol was activated immediately," the police spokeswoman said.

(Reporting by Jose Elias Rodriguez, writing by Isla Binnie, editing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Ingrid Melander)

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