LONDON (AFP) – United Kingdom (UK) police said officers had carried out a controlled explosion after a suspicious package which turned out to be a “hoax device” was found outside the United States (US) embassy in London, England.
The capital’s Metropolitan Police force conducted the explosion after setting up cordons near the high-security site in Nine Elms, just south of the River Thames.
“We can confirm that the ‘loud bang’ reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the force said in a post on X. “Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device,” it added. The US embassy said earlier in a post on the same platform that local authorities were investigating “a suspicious package” outside the building.
It added that police had closed a nearby road “out of an abundance of caution”.
In another sign that UK authorities were on high alert, Gatwick Airport said a “large part” of its south terminal had been evacuated while a “security incident” was investigated.
The building was closed for more than four hours before the airport released a statement at around 2.45pm (GMT) stating that the “south terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly”.
“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” it said.
Police earlier deployed a bomb disposal unit as a precaution after the “discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage”.
A number of flights to and from the south terminal were cancelled, including at least 16 departures and 13 arrivals by British Airways.
Other flights continued to depart but were only carrying passengers who had passed through security before the evacuation.
