The headquarters of the Swedish intelligence services (Säpo) in Stockholm was evacuated on Friday after a possible gas leak and seven people were being treated in hospital, authorities announced, without being able to determine the origin of the leak.
Police officers equipped with gas masks and ambulances joined the area which was evacuated around 1:00 p.m. local time, according to media images.
“Around 1 p.m., reports emerged of the presence of a dangerous substance in the Säpo offices
,” Patrik Söderberg, chief doctor of the Stockholm region health service, told AFP.
“Five people with respiratory symptoms were taken to hospital and two others went there on their own for treatment
,” he added.
An investigation is underway, said the doctor, specifying that he had no information on the incriminated substance.
Paint smell
Säpo, for its part,
“took measures and the emergency services are on site”
after being alerted, its spokesperson Karin Lutz told AFP.
The building was
“partially evacuated
,” she added, without wanting to give additional details or say whether a criminal act was being considered.
Sweden has increased its security alert level since last year and hopes to remove the last obstacle to its entry into NATO on Monday when the Hungarian parliament votes on this accession.
An area of a few hundred meters was evacuated around the intelligence services building, police said, referring to
“a possible gas leak”
.
The area was accessible again late in the afternoon.
Some of the police officers who came to the area
“smelled an odor when they arrived
,” according to the police press release.
Residents in the area were asked to close their windows and witnesses said they smelled something like paint, according to the Aftonbladet daily.
Swedish intelligence services this week warned of threats posed by state actors, particularly targeting Russia, China and Iran.
Säpo estimated in its annual report that activities threatening the country's security are
“carried out on a broad front and foreign powers act in an offensive manner”
.