School Evacuated After Unknown Odour Caused Tears. It Was A Clogged Toilet

Students and staff members of a school in North Carolina, USA, were evacuated after an "unknown odour" was reported in the area on Wednesday. A building at South Mecklenburg High School was evacuated after several students complained of teary eyes and burning throats due to an "air quality incident" on Wednesday afternoon. However, it turns out the foul odour was caused not by hazardous chemicals, as many initially believed, but by a clogged toilet.

According to Fox News, hazmat teams which investigated the incident "found nothing hazardous."

"Haz Mat Teams monitored affected area and found nothing hazardous ; odor was caused by clogged toilet," wrote the Charlotte Fire Department on Twitter.
 

Update: 8900 Park Rd; CFD Haz Mat Teams monitored affected area and found nothing hazardous; odor was caused by clogged toilet; currently no students or faculty have been transported

- Charlotte Fire Dept (@CharlotteFD) May 23, 2018

Firefighters at the scene said they believe sewer gases from a stopped-up toilet caused the students' symptoms, reports WCNC. The incident happened after a maintenance worker plunged the toilet.

Some of the students were treated for their symptoms at the school after the brief evacuation.