Twelve people were taken to hospital with symptoms of shortness of breath and skin irritation after a foul smell spread over Manhattan.
NEW YORK: Twelve people were taken to hospital with symptoms of shortness of breath and skin irritation after a foul smell spread over Manhattan and neighbouring northeastern New Jersey for several hours.
The foul smell that spread on Monday raised fears that it might have been deliberately released. Though, despite efforts by the law enforcement agencies, its source could not be located.
Emergency services received thousands of calls as the odour wafted across Manhattan. Authorities quickly moved to allay fears with Mayor Michael Bloomberg saying it is not dangerous and Homeland Security Department asserting terrorism is not involved.
But no one could explain the phenomenon after Consolidated Edison, which is major supplier of electricity and natural gas in Manhattan, said its transmission lines do not show any abnormal fall in pressure, indicating that there was no gas leak.
In New Jersey, the Public Service Electric and Gas too said there was no leak in their system after running tests. For odor to cover so much area, a major gas leak would be needed, they added.
The city Department of Environment sent mobile teams to test air quality and later declared that there was nothing dangerous.
In an apparently unrelated incident, more than 60 birds were found dead in Austin, Texas, along Congress Avenue which leads to State Capital and air test failed to determine the cause.
But authorities said people were not at risk. In Manhattan, the odour was so strong that several high rise residential and office buildings and schools were evacuated with residents thinking that gas was leaking from their building.
Commuter trains were halted for sometime and some were diverted. The coast guard stepped up patrolling along New York harbours.
The New York Times recalled another mystery which was never solved, a maple syrup odour that people reported on different days in late 2005.
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