New EU building evacuated over scare with noxious gases
An EU building that is set next to play host to a summit of Europe’s leaders next week had to be evacuated on Friday after noxious gases were found in its kitchens, The Financial Times reported.
Officials said that firemen were called on Friday morning to the Europa building, which only opened at the end of last year, and that kitchen staff were receiving treatment.
The source reminds that the €240m building was commissioned specifically to host meetings of EU leaders and also houses staff working for EU Council president Donald Tusk. The EU Council said the incident “will not prevent” its meeting next week from going ahead.
Staff working in the building, nicknamed as “The Egg,” were moved to a neighbouring building, the Justus Lipsius, while investigations continued, with the council applying “a principle of safety first”.
An alert sent to staff at 11:20 this morning said that “as a precaution, in light of the incident in kitchens, all staff and delegates from the Europa building are being evacuated.”
A Belgian fireman on the scene told the FT that 5 staff had been taken ill, but none are in a serious condition, and that the building was evacuated because of a “strange smell.”