Smelly durian fruit forces evacuation of Bavarian post office

Workers taken ill after suspicious package emitting pungent odour causes panic

An overwhelming smell coming from a suspicious package at a Bavarian post office caused six workers to be taken to hospital and many more to be evacuated - only for police to discover that durian fruit, and not a dangerous gas, was the reason for the panic.

Police and firefighters rushed to the scene in Schweinfurt on Saturday over fears that a parcel was releasing a harmful substance. Twelve postal workers received treatment for nausea, including six who were taken to hospital as a precaution, the German broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk reported.