SAN FRANCISCO -- Part of a San Francisco International Airport terminal was evacuated for several hours Sunday after a suspicious item was found in a piece of luggage, officials said.

A baggage screener in the American Airlines section of Terminal 3 "noticed a suspicious item" in a passenger's carryon bag shortly before 1 p.m., said airport spokesman Mike McCarron.

Authorities would not say what exactly was found in the bag, but San Francisco police Lt. Bill Darr said "there were items, articles inside the carryon luggage that did resemble components of a possible device."

Authorities later found that there were no explosives in the bag, said airport duty manager Bob Schneider.

Two men and a woman connected to the luggage were held for questioning and later released, authorities said. They were headed on a flight home to South Carolina through Dallas.

The immediate area around the security checkpoint was evacuated and at least seven afternoon flights were delayed as a bomb squad investigated, Schneider said. Officers destroyed the bag with a water cannon.