A section of St. Brendan's Hospital was cordoned off after an envelope containing an unidentified brown powder was discovered at the facility yesterday.

Three appliances from the Bermuda Fire Service rushed to the scene shortly before 11 a.m. The package was confirmed as suspicious and was handled by firefighters wearing protective clothing

Fire Service spokesman Lt. Dana Lovell said: "The Emergency Support Unit truck was sent to the scene and firefighters donned protective chemical gear to deal with the envelope.

"The firefighters then placed the envelope into a ziplock sealed container and then into a sealed barrel.

"The items were then transported to the Bermuda Police Service analyst for the substance to be identified."