Burning chilli sparks terror fear

A pot of burning chilli sparked fears of a biological terror attack in central London.

Firefighters wearing protective breathing apparatus were called to D'Arblay Street, Soho, after reports of noxious smoke filling the air.

Police closed off three roads and evacuated homes following the alert.

Specialist crews broke down the door to the Thai Cottage restaurant at 1900 BST on Monday where they discovered the source - a 9lb pot of chillies.

The restaurant had been preparing Nam Prik Pao, a red-hot Thai dip which uses extra-hot chillies which are deliberately burnt.

But the smell prompted several members of the public to call the emergency services.

Alpaslan Duven, a Turkish journalist based in the restaurant's building, said: "I was sitting in the office when me and my chief start coughing and I said this was something really dodgy.

"I looked out of the window and saw people rushing and then we heard the sirens."

Supranee Yodmuang, the restaurant supervisor, was above the restaurant when she received a phone call from her boss.

"It was about 4pm when I saw the police who were closing off the roads but I didn't know why.

"My boss rang me and said I had to get out of the building because of a chemical attack."

She added: "Because we're Thai, we're used to the smell of chillies."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The street was closed off for three hours while we were trying to discover the source of the odour."

Source: BBC News - Wednesday, 3 October 2007

I have seen the same effect when some Filipina women get cooking dried fish.

This is sooooo funny!

Burning chilli could be mistaken for an attack of Sarin gas!

they have yet to experience "kapao" leaf.

Not all the unexpected side-effects of globalisation are as amusing as this!!

Twenty years ago, in the days when smoking in public places was still allowed, I used to derive some amusement from the strange looks that I used to get when I lit an Indonesian 'kriket' (clove cigarette) whilst waiting to check in at LHR.

That is brilliant,the axis of evil chillies.

When they suspected a biological terror attack, they may not have been far wrong.

Some Issan food has the same effect on me soon after consumption...

maybe it was one of those extra hot southern curries!

Perhaps this stuff will replace lethal injection as a form of capital punishment.

That would be cruel and unusual.

Americans might use it at Guantanamo and eselwhere. Harmless but scares the shit out of suspects.

I have always considered that living in London, even in the less pungent parts, is a form of capital punishment anyway.