Hospital closed after disinfectant leak, man arrested

The hospital in Capelle aan den IJssel near Rotterdam was closed for several hours on Thursday after a barrel of disinfectant leaked in a storage room. Two hospital workers were taken to intensive care after breathing in the fumes.

Police have since arrested a 25-year-old man at his home in Gouda in connection with the incident. They are now trying to establish if the leak of highly corrosive peracetic acid was deliberate or not.

Several other people have also been treated for breathing difficulties following the leak and a specialist company has been brought in to clean up the chemical and ventilate the premises.

Police have not said if the 25-year-old, described in the media as ‘disturbed’, worked at the hospital. They have said he was in the storage area on Thursday morning.

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