Chili Fumes Poison Neighbors in Australia

Published November 17, 2014

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Aussies are famed for their love of barbecues -- but one would-be chef's attempt at outdoor cookery ended up poisoning his neighbors with chili fumes, Melbourne radio station 3AW reported Wednesday.

A number of people needed medical attention -- with symptoms including nausea and respiratory problems -- as the fumes spread down the street in Cranbourne, Melbourne.

Paramedics rushed to the scene amid confusion as to what was causing the widespread sickness.

"At one stage there was a large number of people standing in the street and we didn't know what had caused them to become ill," medic David Llewelyn said. "We had up to 10 people who were coughing and were dizzy and nauseated."

With households up to 500 feet away affected, paramedics and firefighters went house-to-house searching for the source of the stink.

"It emerged that someone was drying out strong chilies in the backyard and that's what caused the fumes," Llewelyn said.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/world/chili-fumes-poison-neighbors-in-australia