Fire service staff in decontamination equipment are washed
down after attending a chemical spill at an Invercargill
marae which resulted in five people being taken to
hospital. Photo by Rob Landreth.
Five offenders serving a community service sentence were
taken to hospital yesterday, following an unknown chemical
spill at an Invercargill marae.
The offenders were cleaning an implement shed at Murihiku
marae shortly before noon, when they found three canisters -
one of which had been punctured.
Two offenders were taken to Southland Hospital by car and
three others by ambulance after they began vomiting.
As a precautionary measure, Invercargill fire crews were sent
to the Tramway Rd marae and found twelve more people on
community service who had been exposed to the toxic material.
Murihiku runanga general manager Odele Stehlin said the marae
was immediately evacuated, including those attending a
Southland Community Law Centre seminar and children from the
neighbouring kohanga reo.
"It has been one unusual day."
Ms Stehlin said they were able to return to the marae at 4pm.
Fire Service Southland area manager Brendan Nally said
specialist units in decontamination gear worked to "bag and
tag" the canisters, which had been stored in a secure
shipping container.
Scientists were working to determine which chemical had
caused the call-out, and a sample had been sent to a Hamilton
laboratory for testing, he said.
The five people taken to hospital were released later that
afternoon.
hamish.mcneilly@odt.co.nz
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