Mystery health scare at British Museum as visitors complain of sore throats

Saturday August 28, 2010

THOUSANDS of people were evacuated from the British Museum this afternoon after visitors began complaining that they were developing "mild sore throats" inside the Bloomsbury tourist hotspot. Investigators are inside the museum trying to locate the source of what has been described as a "gas incident". Some visitors reported a "funny smell". Nobody has required urgent medical attention.

A police spokesman said: "Purely as a precaution everybody was evacuated from the building. We think it is something that got into the air conditioning system."

A British Museum statement said: "There was a gas incident in the museum at about 12.30. There were no injuries but the museum was promptly evacuated. Police are investigating to ascertain what happened."