Incident with pepper spray in the Congress of Deputies causes the sealing of several offices

Congress has experienced a very atypical morning with the same protagonist: pepper spray. The accidental emptying of a spray belonging to a PP deputy has led to the sealing of three bathrooms and some areas of the Chamber's offices, as well as several people being affected by its inhalation.

The incident actually begins in the plenary session, during the Government control session, when PP deputy Ana Belén Vázquez shows a canister of pepper spray in her face-to-face meeting with Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska to denounce that many people in Ceuta have to carry it to protect themselves. The reaction of the president of Congress, Francina Armengol, was to scold the popular parliamentarian for displaying a "weapon" and temporarily expelled her so that she could hand over the canister to the Police.

However, that pepper spray canister is the same one that was involved in the subsequent incident in Congress, in an unusual episode that led to the closure of several offices due to human error.

As PP sources have admitted, Vázquez did not immediately hand the can to the Police, but rather gave it to a PP worker to clean it, since she was going to show it in several television interviews, and to remove any remains that might have been left from the emptying that, according to her, she had done "on the street", and therefore the can was empty when she exhibited it in the chamber.

This PP worker went to one of the bathrooms on the ground floor of the building located at number 36 Carrera de San Jerónimo to clean the canister, with the misfortune of accidentally activating the spray and releasing the last traces of pepper spray. Then he left and handed the boat to the Galician deputy.

Although the PP worker has not suffered any symptoms from contact with the gas, the passage of minutes did cause havoc in that area of ​​Congress, because the pepper spray began to contaminate both the men's and women's bathrooms. And from there the entire surrounding area.

That's when the alert went off. Two officials saw a woman leave the women's bathroom seriously injured and who had symptoms such as coughing, red eyes and had vomited. This person is part of a delegation from Mauritania that was visiting Congress and was later seen by the medical services.

After giving notice, the National Police proceeded to seal both the men's and women's bathrooms, which are in front of the self-service cafeteria on the ground floor of the building, and which was also affected by the toxicity of the gas, which even reached the kitchens.

Likewise, a second bathroom that comes off that same hallway was closed. The PP worker had also entered it to make sure the boat was clean.

There are several people slightly affected by contact with the toxic gas, in addition to the first Mauritanian woman. The majority are congressional workers. "My eyes are crying," one of the ushers commented to another in the hallway where the bathrooms are, as EL MUNDO was able to witness. She was not the only one, at least there was another woman who had visible symptoms of red eyes.

As the hours passed, it was reported that more people had reported having been exposed to the gas and described having symptoms such as a itchy throat or red eyes. All mildly and without requiring medical attention.

The Police also temporarily closed the offices of Vox and EH Bildu that are in that area as a precautionary measure after complaints were made about the smell.

The National Police has opened an investigation into this incident. However, the situation has been clarified after the PP has reported that everything was the result of an accident during the washing of the boat owned by Vázquez.

Police sealed off a third bathroom located in a different building. Specifically, in the extension that joins the Palace through the famous Congress patio. The closed bathroom is located next to the Ernest Lluch room, at one end of the building, close to the entrance access on Cedaceros Street.

The protocol followed in these cases is to ventilate the area for several hours, until the toxic gas disappears.