A rescue operation is underway at an office block in Mosta after a man forgot to put on deodorant this morning.
The Civil Protection Department has established a cordon around the building on Constitution Street, after Thomas Spiteri, 27, neglected to apply his favoured Nivea Cool Kick anti-perspirant before leaving his home in Attard at 7:30 am.
The situation was further exacerbated by the fact the office’s air conditioner had developed an electrical fault earlier in the day and was subsequently not working.
Colleagues first became aware of a problem when Spiteri came back from lunch at 1:30pm, when they started to smell a faint whiff of stale sweat coming from the IT administrator.
By 2:45pm, the stench – which one colleague described as a “combination of fried onions and horse piss” – had become unbearable.
While several of Spiteri’s colleagues managed to escape the building, those in his immediate vicinity were not so lucky, and needed to be rescued by CPD personnel, who entered the building wearing oxygen masks.
Spiteri himself has been placed in quarantine.
“How could he be so careless?” said a visibly shaken colleague.
CPD chief Emmanuel Psaila said the incident could have been even more severe.
“They’re lucky this didn’t happen tomorrow when the heatwave really kicks in,” he said.
The incident will vindicate campaigners who have been calling on the government to legally require employers to have one can of emergency spray on every floor.
