A loud noise was heard on the White House’s South Lawn just before US President Barack Obama and his family were due to take off by helicopter, a White House pool report said on Saturday.
US media is reporting that the loud noise was due to a minor explosion at a nearby food vendor.
The pool report said the noise prompted Secret Service agents to move the press back into the briefing room and lock the doors. Obama and his family were not yet on the South Lawn.