WASHINGTON, June 30: Police ordered the evacuation of the US Capitol, which houses the US Senate and House of Representatives, on Wednesday, and President George Bush was moved to a secure location following reports that an aircraft had breached restricted airspace around Washington.

“It was evacuated. There were reports of a suspicious aircraft coming our way,” a Capitol Police source said on condition of anonymity, adding that the alert was cancelled after a few minutes.

At the White House, the scare temporarily sent security staff to “red alert,” and the president was hustled off to a secure area on the compound, according to spokesman Scott McClellan.

“We temporarily went to red alert, but within minutes we were back down to yellow,” he said, specifying that “the president was temporarily relocated,” as were some senior staff members.

Security staff were ready to activate the internal alert system but were advised that the plane had turned away from the White House, McClellan said.

News reports said the plane turned out of restricted airspace around the US capital when the pilot was informed of the transgression.

The latest scare came nearly seven weeks after a major White House alert in which F-16 fighter jets scrambled to intercept a light airplane heading for downtown Washington.

It later was learned that the pilot had lost his way and strayed into restricted airspace.

Members of Congress have been sent running from their offices and from Senate and House of Representatives chambers several times in security alerts.

With the September 11, 2001 attacks on Washington and New York still fresh in everyone’s mind, security services take no chances when possible threats emerge. —AFP