Police blow up suspicious package in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Police blew up a suspicious package found next to a downtown parking garage Thursday, the day before the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

At about noon construction workers spotted a plastic grocery bag with what appeared to be wrapped-up highway flares inside, said Lt. Terry Begay of the Salt Lake City Police Department.

The site is about three blocks from the closest Olympic venue, the main media center. Police evacuated two nearby buildings.

"It is a device; we don't know if it's explosive," Begay said, as a bomb technician made his way toward the package in a thick green suit.

The bomb technician planted a small explosive on the bag, which was next to a support beam of the parking garage. The explosion destroyed the device. Bomb technicians set off a second small explosion to make sure the device was no longer a threat.

Within minutes of the report, military helicopters were hovering over the area, across the street from a downtown park where Olympic celebrations will be held. The FBI and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms were on the scene.

Videotape from a security camera on a nearby building will be checked for clues, Begay said.