INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Fire crews remove evidence from South Korea's consulate in Melbourne
Australian police are investigating suspicious packages found at foreign consulates in Canberra and Melbourne.Melbourne's Metropolitan
Fire Brigade said it had been called to "a number of incidents" across the city
Consulates of the UK, Switzerland, US and Pakistan are among those affected, as well as reportedly several others
"The packages are being examined by attending emergency services
The circumstances are being investigated," the Australian Federal Police said
State police in Melbourne said the incidents were believed to be "targeted and not impacting the general community".Emergency workers had
been seen at consulates belonging to India, South Korea, New Zealand, Greece and Italy, local media said.Image copyrightReutersImage
caption
Emergency workers near the Melbourne consulates of India and France
A British High Commission
official said: "We are liaising closely with the [federal police] and the local authorities."All our staff are safe and accounted for."The
Swiss consulate in Melbourne was sent a small envelope containing a substance labelled "asbestos", said Peter Erb, the husband of honorary
consul Manuela Erb."We immediately put the envelope in another bag and rang the emergency service and they came and took it away," he told
the TheIndianSubcontinent."We do know now that the item was not likely a bio-hazard."The US consulate in Melbourne had also notified
authorities about a suspicious package, a spokesman told Reuters.On Monday, suspicious parcels containing a white substance were sent to
Argentina's consulate in Sydney
They were later found to be non-toxic.
