The Statue of Liberty and its surrounding island, one of the most visited monuments in the United States, was given the all-clear Friday after being evacuated because of a bomb threat, police said.
 |
| The Statue of Liberty |
The threat was phoned into emergency services shortly after 11:00 am (1500 GMT), sparking the immediate evacuation of all personnel and visitors, the national park service said.
Park police and canine units swept the statue and New York bomb disposal officers were scrambled after a possible suspicious package was located in a visitor locker.
Photographs posted on Twitter showed a long line of tourists waiting to board a return ferry to Manhattan.
New York police said the island was cleared by 2:00 pm.
"Please cooperate, ladies and gentlemen, and step quickly through the gap (in the barricades) to the rear of the vessel," visitors were told over the loudspeakers in a video recorded by a visitor.
"There is more seating available up top, so please do not stop or hesitate on the gangway."
Each day thousands of people visit the statue, a colossal, 151-foot (46-meter) sculpture of a woman bearing aloft a torch. A gift of France to the American people, it was dedicated in 1886.
