Around 12 people were hospitalized following a sudden illness last night during a function held at the Oak Room in Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo.

 

The function, organized by the Sri Lanka-United Kingdom Society, was held to mark the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.

 

Cinnamon Grand General Manager and Sector Head of Cinnamon City Hotels Rohan Karr told Asian Mirror that the guests were having the first course when the complaints started coming in. People started complaining of nausea and faintishness and some people fainted, Karr said. He also said that they were immediately given first aid and admitted to Nawaloka and Durdans Hospitals.

 

Karr said that the complaints started at about 9.30pm. According to his knowledge, 12 people were hospitalized following the incident, he said. Four or five of them were discharged immediately and only five people were kept in the hospitals overnight.  All are out of danger, Karr added.

 

Police Spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekara told Asian Mirror that Colombo Municipal Council health officials arrived to test the food samples at the event. Meanwhile, police took liquor samples to be sent to the Government Analyst, he added.

 

Gunasekara said that the exact reason for the incident could not be determined before the results of the tests are received.

 

Furthermore, Karr pointed out that people had consumed different foods and alcohols. There is nothing common that cuts across, he asserted. Therefore every possibility has to be investigated, and the hotel is not leaving out any possibility, he added.

 

When asked about the possibility of a gas leak, Karr said that it was highly unlikely because there are no gas pipes going through the Oak Room. Furthermore, if there was a gas leak, more people would have been affected. There were around 200 people at the Oak Room when the incident happened, Karr told.

 

The hotel is currently conducting an internal investigation, Karr said.