Mystery over ‘gas leak’ at Swedish security services headquarters as seven are hospitalized and police don gas masks
EIGHT people have been hospitalized after reports of an unusual smell at the headquarters of the Swedish Security Service.
About 500 people were evacuated amid fears the odor was related to a gas leak.
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Police investigate the cause of the warning.
Local media previously reported that sensors on the building’s roof had detected phosgene, a colorless gas with a choking odor, used to make plastics and pesticides.
Gas is known to have caused a large majority of deaths during World War I.
Authorities have not confirmed the presence of phosgene in the security service building.
Emergency services were first alerted to the situation at 12:30 pm (11:30 GMT) on Friday, after receiving a call from the company’s headquarters Sweden‘s security service, Sapo.
The building, located just outside central Stockholm in Solna, was partially evacuated and barriers were set up hundreds of meters around the property.
Eight people – including police officers who police said “noticed an odor when they arrived on scene” – were hospitalized with breathing problems.
Photos from the scene showed police officers wearing gas masks.
People in nearby buildings were reportedly told to close their windows as a helicopter circled the area.
The nearest exit to a nearby highway was closed and residents of houses in the closed zone, access to their property was denied.
Schoolchildren were kept indoors, a teacher told broadcaster TV4.
Emergency services ended their operation this afternoon around 4:30 pm and removed the barriers.
After early fears of a gas leak, the security service confirmed that no gas was detected inside or outside the building.
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