Bomb Scare at Powell’s Hotel in N.Y.
An attache case regarded as suspicious caused a brief evacuation of some floors of the New York City hotel where Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was staying Thursday night, but no bomb was found, police said.
“The bomb squad opened it up and found there was a non-explosive device in there,” a police spokesman said.
A guest at the Waldorf-Astoria reported that the situation was back to normal within 90 minutes of the evacuation order.
Powell is in New York to attend a key United Nations Security Council session about Iraqi disarmament today. His itinerary includes a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Igor S. Ivanov.
The lower five floors of the luxurious landmark hotel were evacuated, police said. An official with Powell’s party said the secretary was on an upper floor and had not been affected by the evacuation order.
Powell held meetings earlier at the hotel with his counterparts from Britain, Spain, France and Germany.
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