At least 1,800 employees of Microsoft were evacuated after reports of a bomb alert in its Munich-area headquarters, police said, as cited by local press. The threat was later discovered to be a hoax.

The Microsoft premises are in the Lohhof community, which consists of industrial parks 19km north of Munich.

According to the German newspaper Süddeutsche, the company received a threatening call at about 12:06pm local time (11:06 GMT).

All 1,800 employees working at the site were immediately told to evacuate the building. Police then searched the building for explosives with trained dogs.

When no bomb was found, police concluded that the alert was a hoax and allowed Microsoft personnel to return to work.