I accidentally POISONED my family with simple fish tank mistake – we could barely breathe
A DAD accidentally poisoned his family with a powerful toxin released by coral in his fish tank.
Mike Nguyen was left fighting for breath along with his wife, four kids and sister.
He summoned help after coming home from work to find them all barely responsive before he also started feeling seriously unwell.
All seven family members were rushed to hospital suffering from the effects of palytoxin poisoning.
Nearby homes were also evacuated by emergency teams in Dagenham, East London.
Mike, 42, unwittingly released the deadly poison when he cut back coral in his £4,000 500-litre fish tank after a leak.
After draining some of the water into buckets, he then — on the advice of an expert — trimmed the exposed coral to stop the colony drying out.
Takeaway worker Mike said: “I couldn’t believe what happened, it was surreal.
“I came home to my family in a bad way.
“It started when I noticed a leak, so I switched off the pump and called the maintenance guy to come and assess it.
“He came around and I identified the leak was coming from the bracket.
“We took water from the tank and put it in buckets.
“There was then a lot of coral above the water.
“It was important it didn’t dry out, because it can emit palytoxin.
“I was told you have to get that coral down before it poisons the kids and stuff like that.
“I did that straight away and knocked off the rock with a hammer and chisel so the coral would be underneath the water.
“So I’ve done that, and my nose started running.
“I was sneezing and coughing at the same time.
“I didn’t know it was poison.
“I was sneezing and later on I had dizziness but, to be honest, I thought it was Covid.”
Mike later found his wife Yen, four teenage children and sister Huyen were also suffering.
He said: “They all had high temperatures.
“They were all lying on the couches sleeping.
“I could barely make it up the stairs, so I called for a doctor.
“I was still sneezing and coughing as well, it was like serious corona symptoms.”
Six of the family were discharged from Queen’s Hospital in Romford the day after the scare on August 10.
Huyen was treated for a further three days.
The London Ambulance Service said: “We sent members of our Hazardous Area Response Team.”
And the Met Police added: “Seven people were taken to hospital after being exposed to a chemical substance.”
DANGER OF THE POISON
CORAL can release toxic gas palytoxin when it gets too hot or pieces are broken off.
Zoantharians, a sea creature found in reefs, emit palytoxin when exposed to the air.
Palytoxin poisoning symptoms are similar to flu and include coughing, a fever, tight chest, muscle cramps and skin rash.
In extreme cases, it can kill.