COIMBATORE: The District Collector's office in Coimbatore and Salem on Friday received a hoax bomb threat mail, triggering panic moments.

As a mail warned that bombs planted in the collector's office may go off around 1 pm, the shocked staff alerted police. Soon, an intensive search was carried out by Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) sleuths in the entire collectorate premises, which houses several government departments and is visited by a large number of public to avail various services.

Also, a sniffer dog was pressed into service in the combing operation. After a thorough search, the threat was confirmed to be a hoax.

A similar bomb threat to the Salem District Collector's office turned out to be a hoax after police made a thorough search of the entire campus.

Both the Coimbatore and Salem collectorates have received multiple hoax bomb threats over the last few months.