Police officers in London carried out a "controlled explosion" after a suspicious package was found Friday morning outside the U.S. embassy.

The US Embassy was placed in lockdown as armed officers swooped on a suspicious package that is now thought to have been a hoax device. Armed officers from the Met Police arrived at the building in Nine Elms, south west London, following reports of a suspicious package on at around 10am on Friday.

British police said on Friday that a suspicious package left outside the U.S. embassy in London, which was blown up in a controlled explosion, was a hoax device, according to its initial indications.