Around 550 people were evacuated from a library in Australian university due to the stench of the fruit, durian. People mistook the smell of durian to that of a gas and hence people were asked to leave the premises immediately. On Friday afternoon, fire and rescue teams in the Australian Capital Territory responded to calls about "a strong smell of gas" inside the University of Canberra library. The library was quickly evacuated after the incident and emergency services released a statement saying that hazardous materials crews were searching the building and conducting "atmospheric monitoring". Rare Durian Fruit 'J-Queen' Fetches $1,343 Each in Indonesia! World's Smelliest Fruit Becomes Most Expensive.

Following which they released a statement saying, "Firefighters have completed a search of the building and located the source of the smell. The library is now being reoccupied and the building has been handed back to the University of Canberra staff." Emergency services did not reveal what caused the emergency and the library was left with the task of the announcement. And they said, "The library is now being reoccupied and the building has been handed back to University of Canberra staff." Rare Durian Fruit 'J-Queen' Fetches $1,343 Each in Indonesia! World's Smelliest Fruit Becomes Most Expensive.

Following the incident, the university took to Facebook saying, "We are open! The lingering gas-like smell in the building is completely safe – someone left a durian fruit in one of our bins! Very sneaky." Durian which was once called the 'king of fruits' is known for its pungent smell. It is banned from various hotels and public places in regions across Asia. According to the library staff, a rogue durian was left near an air vent on the library's second level. It was eventually removed in a sealed bag.

Here is the library's Facebook post:

In a similar incident, last April, about 600 staff and students at the RMIT campus in Melbourne’s CBD were evacuated fearing gas leak which was actually a durian left in the building. Almost 40 firefighters, including specialist crews, had searched the building fearing a gas leak.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 13, 2019 02:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).