Yonkers building evacuated after chemical scare; 6 people sick

AP ^ | May 16, 2002, 11:08 PM EDT | JIM FITZGERALD

[Jean S]

YONKERS, N.Y. --

A four-story apartment building was evacuated Thursday night after six residents who ate together became ill because of what authorities feared was cyanide contamination.

"They thought it was cyanide," said Susan Tolchin, a spokeswoman for Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano. "Then they thought it was food poisoning. They don't know what it is. They really don't know."

The six people, all from an apartment on the building's top floor, were taken to St. Joseph's Medical Center; two were in critical condition and the others were stable, hospital spokesman Nicholas DeRobertis said.

The two critical patients were unconscious and on life support, Mayor John Spencer said.

The other residents of the 18-apartment building were taken to a nearby parish hall.

There were "some other people" in the apartment with the victims who did not get sick, and health officials were leaning toward a cause that was food related and was not airborne, Spencer said.

"Some did not eat," he said, "and they're all right."

The FBI and state terrorism officials were helping local police with the investigation "due to the sensitivity of it and the times we live in," the mayor said.

The contaminant was "some sort of poison ... possibly cyanide," he said.

Police Commissioner Charles Cola said the victims' conditions deteriorated very quickly, not typical for food poisoning victims, leading him to believe "it was some kind of chemical they ingested."

He said police were trying to find out "what food it was, how it got there and what was in it."

The hospital's emergency room was quarantined briefly as a precaution. It was tested, deemed safe and reopened.

Police officers, firefighters and hazardous-materials teams surrounded the Nepperhan Avenue building after the 8 p.m. evacuation. No other buildings were affected, but nearby streets were cordoned off.

Police said they didn't know if the people in the apartment were related.

[Kevin Curry]

Food poisoning. That makes more sense.

But it doesn't mean a cyanide attack couldn't happen.

[jimtorr]

Okay, it's beginning to sound like a case of poison in the food, not a big terrorist attack. No mention in this story about people in the hospital getting sick, as others have said. I guess we'll know more tomorrow. Good night.

[TomGuy]

Police Commissioner Charles Cola said the victims' conditions deteriorated very quickly, not typical for food poisoning victims, leading him to believe "it was some kind of chemical they ingested."

[MarMema]

Yes, food poisoning as we think of it does not cause respiratory failure, but vomiting and diarrhea. It also does not put people on vents.

So this was chemical food poisoning.

[cajungirl]

People don't die in a couple hours from food poisoning unless it is botulism,,remember why we check canned foods for dents and discard the dented cans, that is a sign of botulinum toxiin in the food. Happens with home canned foods. This sounds like a bad toxin,,maybe strychnine or cyanide or even bad mushrooms. I wonder if someone at the party wanted to poison someone there. I sure hope this isn't terrorism. BTW anyone know if any of the victims were named Mohammed, not that I am profiling or anything.

[MarMema]

I do remember reading about a family poisoned by home canning/botulinism that was found dead still seated at the dinner table.

[McGavin999]

Wonder if it's possible that these are some of the people who stole the chemicals in Mexico and were working with it. Perhaps they handled the food before or while it was being prepared. They don't say who the people are.

[cajungirl]

People with cyanide poisoning smell like almonds,,their breath does. So ER docs when suspecting cyanide always smell the victims. I wonder what they ate,,keep thinking of some home picked mushrooms.

[steamroller]

Botulism from improperly processed foods certainly does cause respiratory failure as well as other severe neurological symptoms.But it takes a while to develop,so it wouldn't hit six people at the same time.

[MarMema]

Some posters on the older threads were mentioning hearing Egyptian nationals who had recently come here from Egypt actually.

[TomGuy]

In another thread someone said their news station was reporting the victims were Egyptians who had just recently come from/returned from a trip to the Middle East.

[Fracas]

I have a friend in Cincinnati who told me there was a death from Legionnaire's Disease last night or this morning. Isn't it strange how none of these things individually cause a twinge of curiosity, but added together....

[Free Trapper]

Any idea what effects botulism would have?

[cajungirl]

Scary huh! I have read that and that is why I hate to eat other people's home canning. And if it is in a jar the jar can't dent so I really hate that!!

[Chad Fairbanks]

From info on the other thread, here, it seems people in this apartment are Egyptian Nationals who just recently returned from a trip to Egypt, if that helps any...

[MarMema]

A good dose of it can hit in a few hours. As I said there was the one family with the canned corn who was found still seated at the dinner table.

Hint -> I do this for a living. Microbiology.

[John H K]

keep thinking of some home picked mushrooms.

An EXCELLENT theory; wish I'd thought of it.

It happens a LOT, particularly with recent immigrants....they're unfamiliar with North American mushrooms, and some of our incredibly poisonous ones look exactly like edible ones from Europe or other countries.

[MarMema]

me too. It's the training. We threw out a ton of pickles that were home canned someone gave us, cause they fizzed when we opened them. Big bubbles come rising to the top, and I was across that room so fast taking that jar away from my kids. LOL.