Law enforcement authorities have determined the Statue of Liberty and surrounding areas are safe after a bomb scare led to the evacuation of hundreds of tourists, according to media reports.
Visitors to the landmark were evacuated from Liberty Island in New York Harbour after a report of a suspicious package, the United States Park Police said.
The evacuation was ordered after a telephone bomb threat, according to CNN and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
A spokeswoman for the US Park Police said she could not confirm such a threat, which CNN said was phoned in at about 11.30 am local time.
About four hours later authorities deemed the area safe, when a security sweep failed to uncover a bomb, according to an NBC report.
A bomb-sniffing dog deployed after the threat had detected “an area of interest” near lockers at the base of the statue, National Park Service spokeswoman Mindi Rambo said in a statement.
The WSJ had reported that police dogs had detected a suspicious scent on a package.
Ferry service suspended
Ferry service to the island was suspended when the security sweep began, said Mike Burke, vice president of Statue Cruises, which operates between the island and Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan.
The New York Police Department's bomb squad assisted in the security sweep, a NYPD spokesman said.
Video posted online showed crowds of tourists slowly shuffling onto ferries to be carried off the island, which lies between Manhattan and New Jersey near the mouth of the Hudson River.
Some photos posted online showed police walking on the island with a bomb-sniffing dog, and a Twitter feed by the local New York police precinct said all civilians were off the island, leaving only emergency personnel.
The Statue of Liberty is one of the New York area’s most popular tourist destinations, and has some 4 million visitors a year,
Reuters