Splashy Events At The German Post Office Confirm Resistance To Durian

Durian photo illustration (Jim Teo / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - A total of 12 German postal workers must receive medical treatment. Several others were evacuated because of a suspiciously smelling package. However, after checking, the package turned out to contain durian fruit. This incident confirms the great resistance of some people to durian.

Launching CNN, Tuesday, June 23, police, firefighters and emergency services were called to a post office in the city of Schweinfurt, Germany, on Saturday, June 20. A postal clerk called the emergency call after staff suspected a package was smelly.

"Because the contents of the packages were not known, it was not clear at first whether the packages posed a greater risk," a statement from the Schweinfurt Police Department explained.

Everyone in the building was evacuated, with about 60 employees forced to leave before packages were carefully inspected. However, it turns out that the package contains four Thai durians.

The package was sent to a 50 year old citizen from a friend in Nuremberg. The fruit is finally sent to the intended recipient.

Durian problem

The taste and creamy texture of durian make the prickly fruit popular in Southeast Asian countries. However, the smell that is considered too strong by some people makes durian also hated by some circles.

In fact, Singapore made a ban on carrying durian when traveling on the subway. Many hotels also ban durian because of its smell, which some critics have likened to food smelling of dirty socks.

"Twelve postal workers who complain of nausea should be treated on the spot," said police at Schweinfurt, adding that six others were taken to hospital.

Six ambulances, five first responders' cars and two emergency vehicles came to the post building. Three other firefighters were also involved in the evacuation.

This is not the first time durian has caused panic. In 2019, staff and students at the University of Canberra building were evacuated on suspicion of a gas leak in the building. But after combing it, the smell comes from the durian fruit.

"We have been evacuated! Will post an update when students can reenter the building," a statement from the library posted on Facebook, was later edited to reveal the source of the smell.

"Fortunately the suspicion of the gas leak turned out to be durian. The smelly fruit has now been removed."

About 550 people were evacuated in less than six minutes before emergency services reached the scene. "Firefighters have completed a search and found the source of the odor," read a statement from the Australian Capital Territory's Emergency Services Agency, adding that a special team had been carrying out "monitoring to ensure the area was safe."

Then, in November 2018, a load of durian caused a flight in Indonesia to be temporarily suspended. This is because passengers complain about a bad smell coming from a cabin.