Statue of Liberty evacuated over suspicious package

New York: Tourists were evacuated on Friday from the Statue of Liberty, a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York City, over reports of a suspicious package.

US Parks Police received a phone call about a bomb threat at noon, after which police personnel swept the location and a K9 unit detected a possible suspicious package inside a visitor locker, Xinhua reported citing CBS News.

The visitors were rushed by boat off Liberty Island and back to the Battery Park and the Liberty State Park in Jersey City.

Media reports said that there was no indication of an explosive device, and officials would X-ray the package as a precaution.

The Statue of Liberty, designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, a French sculpture, was a gift to the US from the people of France. It is one of the US most recognisable landmarks, attracting millions of visitors every year.