Hamburg airport was evacuated and closed after at least 50 people reported suffering breathing problems after inhaling an “unknown substance.”
It all started with people complaining of breathing difficulties after being exposed to unidentified unpleasant odors at the airport in Hamburg on Sunday morning, Hamburger Morgenpost reported.
Terminal 1 and 2 were then evacuated and hundreds of passengers had to wait outside at almost below zero temperatures.
The substance was found during a security check, a police spokeswoman said, according to Reuters. There have been complaints of irritated eyes from the airport personnel, she added.
A source earlier told Bild that the unknown substance might have gotten into the airport’s air-conditioning system. The environmental services of the fire brigade are currently trying to establish exactly what the substance was.
The firebrigade that responded to the call set up first aid posts for those who inhaled the substance.
At least one flight has been delayed for more than an hour because of the emergency, Hamburg airport said on Twitter.
Teil 1: Aufgrund eines Zwischenfalls
ist der Flugbetrieb am Hamburg Airport von 12.32 bis 13.45 Uhr
vorübergehend eingestellt worden.— Hamburg Airport (@HamburgAirport) February 12, 2017
DETAILS TO FOLLOW
