Anarchists may have orchestrated a pair of parcel bombings that wounded two workers at the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome, Italy's interior minister says.

Italy's ANSA news agency quoted Roberto Maroni as saying that investigators believe anarchists were responsible for the separate attacks, reasoning that they bore similarities to mail bombs sent last month to 14 embassies in Greece.

One of the wounded is at risk of losing an eye, hospital officials told The Associated Press.

People gather outside the Chilean embassy in Rome. A pair of package bombs exploded at the Swiss and Chilean embassies Thursday, wounding the two people who opened them. ((Angelo Carconi/Associated Press))

Greek police noted on Thursday that there have been acts of "solidarity" in the past between Greek and Italian militant groups.

All embassies in Rome have been informed about the latest attacks.

On Nov. 2, suspected Greek radical anarchists sent 14 mail bombs to foreign embassies in Athens, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi. Two of the devices exploded, causing no injuries.

Meanwhile in Switzerland, authorities were investigating a suspicious package at the European Union Embassy, the Reuters news agency reported. Citing a police spokesperson in Berne, the report said parts of the building had been cleared.

Back in Rome, a suspicious package found and investigated at the Ukrainian Embassy shortly after Thursday's explosions was later deemed safe by Rome's police chief, Francesco Tagliente.

'Deplorable act of violence'

No one has claimed responsibility for either of the embassy attacks in Rome.

Earlier on Thursday, a package detonated at the Chilean Embassy, slightly wounding an administrative official, Chile's foreign minister said. It was the second such attack in the Italian capital, coming just hours after an explosion at the Swiss Embassy.

An entrance to the Ukrainian Embassy in Rome, where a bomb alarm reported on Thursday turned out to be false. ((Angelo Carconi/Associated Press))

Chilean Ambassador Oscar Godoy described the parcel at the Chilean building as smaller than a package but bigger than a letter. It had been addressed to the Chilean cultural attaché, he said, calling the attack "an unexplainable act of terrorism — irrational and brutal."

In the Chilean Embassy incident, an employee suffered non-life-threatening injuries when he opened the package, ANSA reported. Witnesses said they heard a blast outside the Chilean Embassy shortly after 3 p.m. local time.

The Swiss Embassy attack also involved a package that detonated, while a worker was handling it in the mailroom.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini called the Swiss Embassy incident a "deplorable act of violence" against the Swiss, and offered Italy's solidarity with the embassy staff and the worker who suffered serious injuries to both hands.

Reporter Sabina Castelfranco told CBC News the 53-year-old employee at the Swiss Embassy was handling the package in the mailroom when it detonated.

"He has been taken to hospital, and another person is suffering from shock," she said, adding later that the wounded man underwent surgery but was not likely to require amputation.

While the Swiss ambassador to Italy was briefing reporters outside the Swiss Embassy on Thursday, journalists heard of the Chilean Embassy blast not far from the scene.

Asked whether he believed the attack had anything to do with domestic issues, Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said Italian authorities were following an "international path" in their investigations.

Authorities say there have been no claims of responsibility for the attack on the Swiss Embassy in Rome. ((Angelo Carconi/Associated Press))

"It's a wave of terrorism against embassies — something much more worrisome than a single attack," he said.

Bomb disposal units are going through the Swiss Embassy to determine if there are any other threats, Castelfranco said. Firefighters and Italy's Carabinieri military police were at the building, located on the Via Barnaba Oriani, north of downtown Rome.

The Chilean embassy is located at Via Po, also in the city's north end.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment on the Swiss Embassy explosion.

Both embassy explosions come two days after a suspicious package containing wires, pipes and explosive powder was found in a subway car in Rome.

The device did not contain a detonator and could not have exploded, bomb disposal experts and police said.