Pesticide Spill At MIA Sends Four Ramp Workers To Hospital

July 30, 2013
The pesticide was a homemade concoction carried by a passenger inside a shampoo bottle.

July 29--Four people were rushed to the hospital Monday afternoon after a small pesticide spill at Miami International Airport.

The incident began around 3:30 p.m. when a 3-ounce bottle, marked as shampoo, spilled from a passenger's bag that was on a loading ramp near the southeast gate of the airport, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

A hazmat unit responded to a call and the spilled contents were contained.

The owner of the bag, who has not been identified, was apparently traveling from Port-au-Prince on a connecting American Airlines flight to Baltimore. The pesticide was a homemade concoction, according to airport spokeswoman Maria Levrant.

Initially the four people were complaining of headaches as a result of the smell from the pesticide. Two of them began to vomit and complained of abdominal pain. They were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. One patient remains in serious condition.

A fifth patient was also treated but refused to be hospitalized.

Copyright 2013 - The Miami Herald