BREAKING NEWS

Police clear packages that prompted evacuation of NYC Subway

Two suspicious packages that prompted the evacuation of one of New York City's busiest transit hubs during the Friday morning rush hour were deemed to be safe, police said.

The discovery of what appeared to be two pressure cookers caused authorities to clear passengers from Fulton Street station in Lower Manhattan, where there was a heavy police presence and emergency vehicles on the scene.

Police posted two photographs of the cookers on social media and said they had been cleared by the Bomb Squad.

"They are NOT explosive devices," the Counterterrorism Bureau of the New York Police Department's wrote on Twitter. "Officers are continuing to sweep area subway stations out of an abundance of caution."

U.S. law enforcement have been highly responsive to pressure cookers since a pair of ethnic Chechen brothers killed three people and injured more than 200 with two homemade pressure-cooker bombs at the 2013 Boston Marathon.

The Fulton Street station complex, close to the World Trade Center site, is served by about a dozen subway lines. Authorities warned of residual delays for commuters.