Seven people were hospitalized and their homes were sealed off after a deadly leak occurred at an aquarium…

August 11, 2024, 09:50 am | Updated: August 11, 2024, 10:02 am

Seven people were hospitalized with breathing difficulties following a serious leak at an aquarium in east London.

Due to a suspected chemical leak, emergency services dispatched hazardous materials teams to the site in Dagenham on Saturday evening.

Residents of Wren Road were evacuated around 10pm on Saturday after reports of breathing difficulties. Paramedics took seven people to hospital.

London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade staff attended the scene as several residents were reportedly suffering from breathing difficulties.

Response teams identified the chemical as palytoxin, a potentially deadly biohazard released by corals in a nearby aquarium.

London's emergency services said they had dispatched “a number of emergency services” to the area after frightened residents made panicked calls.

When they arrived, they found numerous people suffering from severe respiratory problems as the poison could cause cough, fever, chills, sore throat, headache, muscle aches, chest pain and shortness of breath.

Emergency services confirmed that ten houses were cordoned off as a result of the leak.

It is believed that halide lamps, which are often used to keep corals in domestic aquariums, can cause what is known as heat stress in corals that are not underwater.

The process results in the release of palytoxin, the toxin responsible for the leak.

London Ambulance Service said: “We were called to an incident at a residential building on Wren Road at 9.46pm on 10 August,” a spokesman said.

“We have dispatched a number of resources including ambulance crews, an incident commander and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).”

“We worked together with colleagues from the London Fire Brigade. We treated seven patients and took them all to hospital.”