Boomers’ missile launch scare

A major scare has been sent through the FIBA World Cup just a day before the event tips-off, with the Australian Boomers waking up to a 4am emergency evacuation alert due to a missile launched by North Korea.

People in Okinawa, Japan, received the emergency alarm via their phones overnight, with the notification reading, “Emergency Alert: Missile launch. Missile launch. A missile is believed to have been launched from North Korea”.

Just 13 minutes later, another message came through reading, “Missile passed. Missile passed. It is believed that the previous missile passed into the Pacific Ocean at around 4am. We will cancel the call for evacuation. Never approach anything suspicious and immediately contact the police and fire departments”.

We just got a 4am emergency alert here in Okinawa, Japan, that North Korea launched a missile and we should seek shelter. Another alert came through 10 minutes later: the missile passed into the Pacific Ocean; warning lifted. Can we, and I can’t stress it enough, absolutely not.

— Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) August 23, 2023

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A post shared by Tom Hersz (@tomhersz)

Prominent basketball journalists in Okinawa for the World Cup, including Newscorp’s Matt Logue, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc and Tom Hersz, revealed the news overnight on social media.

The Boomers are based in Okinawa for the group stages of the World Cup, which tips-off tomorrow at 6pm AEST against Finland.