UPDATE 1-BBVA offices in Mexico City skyscraper evacuated due to threats

The Mexican headquarters of Spain's BBVA, located in one of the capital's tallest skyscrapers, were evacuated on Wednesday around midday due to what the bank said were two anonymous emails threatening violent acts against its corporate offices.

BBVA said in a statement it did not believe the threats were real, but evacuated the 235-meter (771-foot) tower as well as another Mexico City office as a precaution. "In an effort to protect the physical well-being of all of our colleagues, the decision was made to evacuate the installations," according to the statement.

Myriam Urzua Venegas, the city's emergency services chief, told local television station TeleDiario both emails and phone calls warned of "a possible explosive device" in the tower, but added it could be a false alarm. Dozens of office workers from the modern tower, an icon of Mexico City's skyline, crowded nearby sidewalks just before 1 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) along an especially busy stretch of the tree-lined Paseo de la Reforma boulevard.

The bank added that its local branches continued to operate normally. (Reporting by Mexico City Newsroom; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Jonathan Oatis)

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