NEW YORK, Aug 16 — Suspicious packages resembling pressure cookers were left in two Manhattan locations today, disrupting traffic and prompting the evacuation of one of the city’s busiest transit hubs during the morning rush hour before police deemed them harmless.

The discovery of what appeared to be two pressure cookers caused authorities to clear passengers from Fulton Street subway station in Lower Manhattan, disrupting service on numerous lines.

A third implement resembling a pressure cooker was found a short time later on the street next to a garbage can in the borough’s Chelsea neighbourhood.

The discoveries in both locations drew a heavy police presence and the New York Police Department’s bomb squad, which investigated them and found them to be safe.

"They are NOT explosive devices,” the Counterterrorism Bureau of the New York Police Department wrote on Twitter. "Officers are continuing to sweep area subway stations out of an abundance of caution.”

Police posted two photographs on social media of the cookers at Fulton Street.

US law enforcement have been highly responsive to pressure cookers since a pair of ethnic Chechen brothers killed three people and injured more than 200 with two homemade pressure-cooker bombs at the 2013 Boston Marathon.

The Fulton Street station complex, close to the World Trade Center site, is served by numerous subway lines. Authorities warned of residual delays for commuters. — Reuters