According to the statement of the Western Estonia Rescue Center, the employees of the Nature House have been poisoned by rearranging the aquarium.
Tarmo Volteins, the centre’s rescue manager, said that during the work, the corals had come into contact with the air and a large amount of toxic substances had entered the environment. According to him, as far as is known, there have been only a few similar cases in the world.
One of the injured workers was taken to hospital, the others showed clear signs of poisoning.
Rescuers collect samples to test whether the poisoning is caused by palitoxin, one of the most toxic and structurally complex natural substances. The Nature House will then be thoroughly ventilated.
According to Cairo Mertsin, the director of the House of Nature, the best chemistry and biophysics experts from Tallinn and Tartu, as well as marine biologists, were invited to find out the circumstances of the incident as soon as possible.
“Currently, the main thing is human health, so we have attracted the best experts, also at the international level,” she stressed.
