Dozens fall ill in French train station as man pours toxic liquid on floor
The man spilled the liquid and then ‘calmly boarded a train’, police say
The man spilled the liquid before calmly boarding a train
TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock
Just over 30 people fell ill at a train station in Paris over the weekend after a man poured a mystery chemical liquid on the floor of a McDonald’s restaurant.
The man spilled the orange liquid on the floor of the fast-food site in Gare Saint-Lazare, on Saturday, November 16, before calmly and quietly boarding a train to Caen (Calvados, Normandy), police sources told FranceInfo.
He was arrested upon arrival, after CCTV images and witness reports of his appearance were shared with Paris police, who alerted their colleagues in Caen. Witnesses said he was wearing a blue down jacket, and carrying a suitcase.
‘Relative emergency’
A security perimeter was set up around the restaurant, and 32 people were taken ill - including 10 in a “relative emergency state” - police said. However, the station itself was not evacuated.
The people who were taken ill were removed for care, after the fire brigade put a ‘NRBC’ protocol in place, which aims to protect victims exposed to nuclear, radiological, biochemical or chemical risks. Yet, the victims did not need to be hospitalised.
A total of 10 police officers who responded to the incident also complained of sore throats after inhaling the product, but they did not require hospitalisation either.
Early investigations suggest that the ‘mystery’ liquid was from a can of pepper spray, FranceInfo reports.
