Toxic fumes sicken 13 in Europe’s new ‘Space Egg’ headquarters
Spokesman for Brussels emergency services said symptoms included ‘sore eyes and vomiting’
Thirteen people were taken ill due to noxious fumes in the kitchens of the EU’s new Europa building in Brussels, where leaders of the bloc are due to hold a summit next week, officials said.
A spokesman for the European Council said that 13 people were taken ill, with five of them hospitalised.
“There was a bad mix of chemical products on the kitchen level. That caused fumes,” Pierre Meys, a spokesman for Brussels emergency services, said. He said the symptoms included “sore eyes and vomiting”.
The European Council said in a statement that next week’s summit of 28 European Union leaders, during which Brexit and the future of Europe will be on the menu, would take place there as planned.
“A technical issue affecting the ventilation in the kitchens of the Europa building, producing noxious fumes in the kitchens, has led to a number of kitchen staff falling ill,” the council said in statement.