Hong Kong police shut down Lower Albert Road and several surrounding streets in Central over fears that a suspicious backpack outside a government building contained an explosive device.
At 9:47 am, a passerby summoned the police after finding the backpack and a bottle of water inside a telephone booth. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit and a bomb disposal robot were dispatched to the scene, according to Apple Daily.
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Upon closer examination, however, the backpack proved to just be a backpack, RTHK reports. Authorities managed to contact the bag’s owner, who arrived at the scene, collected his belongings, and left after being questioned by the police.
By 11:51am, all lanes of Lower Albert Road between Ice House Street and Garden Road were reopened to traffic.
Suspicious packages prompting bomb scares are certainly nothing new, but today’s incident came just after the discovery of a major bomb-making facility in Tsuen Wan last week.
Officials found the high explosive TATP, as well as a t-shirt with the logo of a small fringe pro-independence group and leaflets related to the city’s ongoing protest movement.
