New Zealand's Dunedin airport temporarily closed after suspicious package found

Dunedin International Airport in the Southern Island of New Zealand was temporarily closed on late Sunday after a suspicious bag was found on the airfield.

"Dunedin Airport is currently closed," Geo News quoted the New Zealand Police as saying in a statement.

"Police are at the scene and specialist teams have been deployed to determine the nature of the package," the statement said.

As the scare came in the late evening, Air New Zealand flight 691 from Wellington circled around the city for almost an hour before returning to its destination.

New Zealand is currently on a state of high alert after a gunman, who is believed to have lived in Dunedin, killed 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch on Friday morning.

Using automatic weapons, the 28-year-old gunman launched a "well-planned" attack on the mosques when devotees had assembled for the weekly prayer on March 14, following which mosques across the country were advised to shut down across the country.

"Mosques are welcome to open their doors if they choose to do so. Police will continue to maintain a presence at all mosques across New Zealand," New Zealand Police tweeted on Sunday.