Seven in hospital struggling to breathe & homes cordoned off after ‘chemical incident sparked by fish tank coral toxin’
A ‘CHEMICAL incident’ saw seven people rushed to hospital and sparked the evacuation of 10 homes in London last night.
Emergency services scrambled to a property on Wren Road, in Dagenham, at around 10pm after terrified residents reported breathing difficulties.
Paramedics found seven people struggling to breathe and the London Ambulance Service called in their Hazardous Area Response Team.
The mystery chemical was later confirmed to be palytoxin, a dangerous substance released from coral in a fish tank.
First responders declared it a Hazmat incident as the substance can lead to breathing difficulty, chest pain and death.
Locals affected are currently undergoing medical treatment, while 10 homes have been cordoned off.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 9.46pm on 10 August to reports of an incident at a residential address on Wren Road.
“We sent a number of resources including ambulance crews, an incident response officer and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).”
“We responded alongside colleagues from London Fire Brigade.
“We treated seven patients and took them all to hospital.”
The Met Police have been contacted for comment.
Symptoms Of Palytoxin Poisoning
- Flu-like symptoms such as coughing, fever, chills, sore throat, headache, muscle aches, chest pain, respiratory distress.
- Skin symptoms include rash or hives, itching, numbness, dermatitis.
- Respiratory symptoms include wheezing, tight chest, shortness of breath, runny nose, fluid in the lungs.
- Gastrointestinal symptoms include abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea.
- Ocular symptoms range from conjunctivitis, photophobia, blurred vision, to corneal ulceration.
- Neurological symptoms can be fatigue, dizziness, speech disturbance, bitter metallic taste, tremors, tingling or numbness of extremities.
- Muscle symptoms include pain, weakness, cramps, spasms.
- Cardiac effects range from irregular, slow, fast heart rate, cardiac muscle damage, low or high blood pressure
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