Switzerland’s Davos is currently hosting the annual World Economic Forum event. After the main conference on Wednesday, January 21st, an unusual odor was detected at the venue, prompting firefighters to rush to the scene for an emergency evacuation. However, the evacuation order was lifted shortly after the cause was determined.
One witness reported that there was a strange smell in the air inside the venue, causing people in the area to cough uncontrollably.
Emergency responders quickly arrived on the scene and began evacuating the crowd. After a few minutes, the firefighters completed their investigation and announced the end of the evacuation.
As of now, authorities have not disclosed the reason behind the incident.
Italian journalist Lili Gruber was the first to post on social media X, stating that firefighters had evacuated all attendees inside the venue.
“We left everything inside because it seems like a nearby hotel is on fire,” she wrote. “There are helicopters circling above, filled with firefighters.”
Shortly after, American Fox News reporter Edward Lawrence also posted on X, saying that they had just been evacuated from the Congress Center, attaching a video showing firefighters rushing in.
“Emergency responders are investigating what odor caused people in our area to cough,” he wrote.
A few minutes later, he added that after the firefighters completed their investigation, the evacuation was over.
CBS reporter Jennifer Jacobs mentioned that a White House official stated that the evacuation did not affect President Trump. The President left the conference center at 9:14 p.m. local time.
She noted seeing emergency responders and a group of people outside a hotel near the conference center, indicating that the hotel was undergoing evacuation.