Moviegoers southeast of Seattle were in for a twist Friday night after a package of human urine was mistakenly delivered to a theatre, prompting an evacuation and hazardous materials response. One person was even sent to the hospital.
The North Bend theatre in North Bend, WA., was evacuated Friday night after its manager opened a package that contained a box of liquid, labelled as a “highly contagious human substance,” Snoqualmie police Sgt. Paul Graham told CNN affiliate KOMO News
According to the town’s Eastside Firefighters union, a hazmat team was rushed to the scene to determine what the substance was. Nearby streets were closed off and the area was cordoned.
“Box has been isolated and one patient treated as a precaution,” said the firefighters in a tweet. “Five hazmat techs on scene.”
According to Graham, the manager who opened the box was taken to a local hospital to be checked, in keeping with standard exposure protocol.
After tests confirmed that the liquid inside was urine, it was “disposed of appropriately in a bio container,” the firefighters told KOMO.
The package was supposed to be delivered to a clinic in Tacoma, Graham told KOMO. It is still unclear why the package arrived in North Bend, about 80 kilometres away.
In an announcement on their website, the theatre praised the response teams’ efforts, and that they would be open the following day.
“All is well,” said the theatre. “We will be open as usual tomorrow, Saturday, November 30th.”
Follow David Lao on Twitter
david.lao@globalnews.ca
Comments