This report describes a security incident at Asturias Central University Hospital, known as HUCA, where a partial evacuation occurred on a Wednesday night after a bomb threat was received by a call from a withheld number at around 10:15 p.m. The authorities treated the tip with caution, and a rapid response was activated by police and specialized units. Members of Tedax, the police team responsible for explosive devices, along with canine units trained to detect explosives, conducted thorough checks in the hospital plumbing and other areas as a precautionary measure.
By around 11:30 p.m., the partial evacuation was in effect, with emergency rooms and waiting areas limited to maintain safety for those with mild conditions or no mobility issues. Health authorities clarified that patients evacuated from the emergency department and those arriving after the threat were redirected to other medical facilities to ensure continued care without compromising safety. The aim was to keep critical services available while reducing risk to those most vulnerable during the assessment process.
Although the operation did not fully extend to the hospital’s most seriously ill patients or those with limited mobility, accompanying family members and staff faced the same temporary relocation when necessary. The on-duty physician in charge of a sensitive service noted the staffing constraints that followed the threat, stating that only essential personnel were deployed to maintain care for affected patients who could not be moved. Security teams, including canine units, carried out a comprehensive interior search of the Emergency Department in search of any explosive device while outside, healthcare workers, patients, and relatives waited in parking lot entrances for updates.
SESPA leadership and a dedicated team assisted at the emergency department, and officials discussed the development of formal response protocols with media representatives. Messages of calm and reassurance were communicated to the public as authorities worked to verify the threat and ensure the hospital environment was safe before resuming normal operations.
A clear message emerged about maintaining calm in the face of uncertainty, with authorities emphasizing that security forces and their specialized teams would act on the best available information and official guidance. Community figures and healthcare leaders joined in to help stabilize the situation and reassure families about patient safety.
Health officials in the region established a dedicated telephone service to inform families about the evacuation process and to answer general questions. They encouraged people to contact 112 for information about the status of the evacuation, while noting that medical details about individual patients could not be shared. The aim was to provide transparency about the overall situation while protecting patient privacy. The emergency coordination center helped to ease pressure on frontline staff by directing the flow of patients to appropriate facilities and maintaining clear lines of communication with relatives.
By morning, hospital leadership announced that access to HUCA’s Emergency Department had returned to normal. Relatives who had been waiting outside were allowed to re-enter waiting areas, and staff conducted safety checks to confirm that all floors and emergency zones were secure. Officials reported that nine floors and major emergency areas had been cleared, and additional inspection of other hospital spaces was underway to ensure full safety before normal operations resumed. The hospital complex, which employs thousands of staff and houses substantial bed capacity, resumed typical activities as quickly as possible to minimize disruption to patient care.