Threat prompts closure of US tunnel

One of two tunnels carrying traffic under Baltimore’s harbour was closed today and another was partially shut down in response to what an official said was a security threat.

The Baltimore Harbour Tunnel was closed while the Fort McHenry Tunnel was partially closed, with one lane of traffic moving in each direction, said Lt Col David Franklin of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police.

The closures were in response to a threat, a federal law enforcement official said.

Another federal law enforcement official said the threat was phoned in to authorities by a person claiming to have information from abroad.

Authorities are sceptical of the claim, but are checking it out nonetheless out of an abundance of caution, the official said.