This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Two packages have detonated in the post rooms of two government buildings in Maryland, officials said tonight.

The packages were sent to state government buildings 20 miles apart, and released smoke and the smell of sulphur when they were opened. Two workers were slightly burned, but not seriously, the Associated Press reported.

"When both packages were opened there was a reaction that caused a flash of fire, smoke and a smell," state police spokesman Greg Shipley said. "This is not to be compared with a significant explosion that you think of when you say that word."

Post rooms at state offices across Maryland were being quarantined until it could be determined if any other packages had been sent.

One was opened around 12.30pm at the Jeffrey Building, located just blocks from the State House in downtown Annapolis, the state capital, and another 15 minutes later at the Maryland Department of Transportation building in Hanover, near Baltimore's airport.

Authorities evacuated about 125 people at the Jeffrey Building and 250 people from the Department of Transportation building, Reuters reported.

Shipley said the packages were small, about the size of a book. One had five holiday stamps.

The FBI's joint-terrorism taskforce was assisting in the investigation, the state police spokesman said, adding that the state fire marshal and a number of other law enforcement agencies also responded to the two scenes.

Investigators had yet to identify a suspect or make any arrests, a Maryland state official said.