SYDNEY, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Five people have been hospitalized after being exposed to an unidentified chemical at two post offices in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland on Friday.
Emergency services were called to reports of fumes and an odor at an Australia Post location in the rural town of Charters Towers, over 1,000 km northwest of Brisbane, shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Friday.
Four people were treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics before being taken to hospital in stable conditions.
A short time later, paramedics were sent to reports of an unknown fluid leaking from a package at a second Australia Post location in the city of Townsville, 105 km north of Charters Towers.
The Townsville location was evacuated, and one person was taken to hospital for monitoring.
A spokesperson for the Queensland Fire Department (QFD) told News Corp Australia newspapers that the incident was centered around a package that had been transported between the two locations.
QFD scientific crews have been deployed to both locations to conduct urgent testing to identify the type of chemical involved.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that police were awaiting test results before starting an investigation. ■
