Bomb found in tallest building in Latin America, Mexico City

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- More than 10,000 people were evacuated Thursday from Latin America's tallest building where police found a small handmade bomb inside a car parked in the garage, authorities said.

People stand in front of the Torre Mayor building after a bomb warning in Mexico City Thursday.

A bomb squad retrieved the device -- consisting of three metal tubes filled with gunpowder, cables and a cell phone, all tied together with tape -- from the 740-foot (225-meter) Torre Mayor on Mexico City's main Reforma avenue, the city's Public Security Department said in a news release.

Had the device exploded, damage would have been limited mostly to the car, the department said.

The federal Attorney General's Office is investigating the incident but there were no initial claims of responsibility.

An unidentified person called one of the tower's offices to warn that a bomb had been placed inside a car on one of the building's 13 parking levels. The car was reported stolen, authorities said.

A total of 10,800 people were evacuated from the 55-floor building, which opened in 2003.

More than 10,000 people have been evacuated from a skyscraper in Mexico after police found a handmade explosive device in a car parked in the building.

 
Bomb squad officers removed a device made of tubes attached to a mobile phone from a car parked at Torre Mayor in Mexico City, police said.

 
The government is investigating the incident but no one has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb scare.

 
The 225m (740-foot) Torre Mayor is the tallest building in Latin America.

 
Phone tip-off

 
Mexico City police chief Joel Ortega said police had received an anonymous phone call revealing the car's location and number plate.

 
The bomb was made with three gunpowder-filled metal tubes, cables, a mobile phone and tied together with tape.

 
But if it had exploded, damage from the blast would probably have been limited to the car, Mexico City's Public Security Department said.

 
The building's administrator, Felipe Flores, said police spent about three hours searching the building after the tip-off.

 
The 55-floor tower, located in Mexico City's main business district, was opened in 2003.