Police evacuate flat Eindhoven because of toxic xtc fumes

Photo: Depositphotos.com
Photo: Depositphotos.com

Twenty people were forced to temporarily leave their homes in a street in Eindhoven on Sunday when a van containing hazardous chemical waste from an xtc lab caught fire, Dutch media reported over the weekend.

The van was parked in a residential area creating a dangerous situation for people living in a nearby flat as toxic hydrochloric acid fumes were released.

A second van also containing dumped xtc waste had been discovered in the same street the night before. An unknown quantity of red  liquid from the van was said to have oozed from the van into the sewer. The waste was later removed by a specialised fire brigade unit.

A police spokesman commented it ‘was ludicrous to have this happen in a street full of people’.

Waste from xtc production, which is usually dumped in remote areas, is becoming increasingly common.  In the last year police were called out 206 times to investigate incidences of illegal dumping, mainly in the east of the country where leaking vats containing hydrochloric acid and other harmful waste products from xtc and speed production are posing a serious threat to the environment.

Police raided 82 drugs labs in the last year. Half of these were located in Zeeland, Brabant and Limburg.

Investigations to find out who left the vans in Eindhoven are ongoing.

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