The Sub-Regional Command of Emergency and Civil Protection of Baixo Alentejo reported to Lusa news agency that a chemical spill occurred around 3:25 PM. The exact nature of the chemicals was not specified.
According to the same source, the researchers who were intoxicated, suffering burns to their respiratory tracts, were transported by firefighters to the emergency room of Beja hospital.
When contacted, the commander of the Beja Fire Department, Pedro Barahona, specified that the injured were researchers, all men in their 30s, emphasizing that the products spilled in the accident were hydrochloric acid and butanol.
Firefighters are currently ventilating the laboratory, the official added.
In a statement, the president of IPBeja, Maria de Fátima Carvalho, said she had little information about the accident, only adding that the injured researchers belong to the Center for Agricultural and Agro-Food Biotechnology of Alentejo (CEBAL), based at this polytechnic institute.
The rescue operations mobilized the Beja Fire Department, the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), and the PSP, with a total of 13 operatives, supported by six vehicles, including a medical emergency and resuscitation vehicle (VMER).
