Dozens of schools in India's national capital region were evacuated on Wednesday after they received a bomb threat by email, police said, adding that "nothing objectionable" was found during searches of the schools.

More than 50 schools in Delhi and the adjoining suburb of Noida received the threatening email, officials said, triggering panic among parents and prompting schools to send students home.

Television visuals showed parents standing outside the gates of schools across the region waiting to pick up children, as police teams, dog squads, and bomb disposal squads checked the premises.

The hoax affected thousands of school children from grades 1-12.

"Delhi Police has conducted thorough check of all such schools as per protocol...It appears that these calls seem to be hoax," Delhi Police said in a statement. Police did not release any further details about the threat.

Security agencies were taking "all necessary steps", the home ministry said on X.

Delhi Education Minister Atishi, who uses only one name, appealed to people not to panic, adding that school authorities would be in touch with parents wherever needed.

Some schools that were not among the recipients of the email also sent messages to parents to reassure them about the safety of their children.

Similar threats have been sent to schools in New Delhi in the past, but turned out to be hoaxes. 

At least 34 people, including two babies were killed when a contraband fuel depot exploded into flames in southern Benin near the border with Nigeria on Saturday.

According to Beninese Interior Minister Alassane Seidou, “a serious fire occurred in the town of Seme Podji. Another 20 people were seriously wounded in the incident.”

"I can't really give you the cause of the fire, but there is a large gasoline warehouse here and cars, tricycles and motorcycles come from morning to evening,” he added.

Nigeria is a main oil and gas producer where fuel smuggling is very common along its borders, particularly when the government maintains a subsidy to keep fuel prices low.

The majority of the victims were burnt and they could not be not be identified.

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