Emergency services were alerted to the Security Police’s headquarters in Solna at lunchtime on Friday, which The Express was the first to report on.
An odor must have been felt at the scene and the emergency services went in with chemical divers partly to indicate and thus determine which substance it was, partly to determine where the smell was coming from.
Emergency services are on the scene to find out where the mysterious smell is coming from. Photo: Magnus Hallgren
The barricades were put around 500 meters from Säpo’s building, which was evacuated on Friday afternoon, and inside them were several police officers wearing gas masks, according to DN’s reporter on the spot.
At 4:30 p.m. the cordons were lifted and both police and emergency services left the scene. On Friday evening it was announced that there was no gas in the area.
– After the rescue service completed its operation, it was established that there was no gas, either inside the premises or outside the building, says Säpo’s press manager Karl Melin.
Region Stockholm went into emergency mode due to the gas alarm. At least eight people, including several police officers, were taken to hospital with breathing problems and nausea. What caused the alarm and led to several people falling ill is still unclear.
– I have no further information to give here and now, says Karl Melin.
The police have started an investigation into causing bodily harm to find out what caused the alarm. There are currently no suspects.
– It has been an extensive effort, so it might be good to investigate this. It also has great symbolic value. To avoid conspiracy theories in these times, it may be good to conduct an investigation so that rumors do not arise, says Stockholm police spokesperson Ola Österling.
The police have some hypotheses about what could be behind the symptoms.
– There are a number of different hypotheses that we intend to investigate in the preliminary investigation that has been established. Among other things, burning, welding, construction work and more may have caused the chemical smell described by those who went to hospital.
In addition to the emergency services, police and an ambulance are on site at Säpo’s headquarters. Photo: Magnus Hallgren
A person who lives inside the cordons were on their way home when he heard about the gas alarm.
– We came home from a trip and saw that the house was cordoned off. Now we are sitting in a restaurant in Solna and waiting, he says.
Hanna Fahlgren, who works at a cafe on Huvudstadsgatan, says she was told to turn off the ventilation.
– It smells a bit strange outside, but nothing in here, she says.
