The U.S. Homeland Security Department building was evacuated on Friday after receiving suspicious dead fish and white powder.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the department was briefly evacuated after an employee received a package containing a dead fish and white powder.

The authorities has made a swift response to the reports on the suspicious package delivered to the department office in downtown Washington, D.C., said FBI spokeswoman Kate Schweit.

She also said that the area around the office has been secured by local police and fire department, and the package has been taken to a lab for test.

The incidents evoked memory of the anthrax letters that killed five people and stirred panic in the U.S. right after the Sept. 11,2001, terrorist attacks.

In December, the FBI and the State Department said that more than 40 governor offices and at least 15 U.S. embassies in Europe have received envelopes with suspicious white powder but they did not find dangerous substances.

The similar envelopes with white powder also appeared in more than 50 bank branches and a prominent newspaper headquarters in October, carrying a message "it's payback time."

Despite a hoax, the FBI said that sending threat letters is still considered "a serious crime." 　

Source: Xinhua