Flights in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport were briefly suspended this afternoon after smoke in an elevator shaft forced the evacuation of the control tower, officials said.

The evacuation was ordered after smoke was detected at 12:40 p.m., said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Controllers moved to an alternate location to continue directing air traffic, but officials said the smoke cleared a short time later and planned to move controllers back to their normal posts in the tower.

“The FAA issued a ground stop on air traffic operations for the air traffic control tower at Newark Liberty Airport earlier today while the controllers relocated to an alternate site to handle traffic.” the FAA said in a statement. “The tower was evacuated because smoke was reported in the elevator shaft. Air traffic controllers are now managing air traffic at the alternate site and will remain there until the issue in the tower is resolved.”

(Source: NJ Star Ledger)