Eleven people have been hospitalised after they came into contact with a parcel containing a white powder — possibly anthrax — at a post office in Alberton, south of Johannesburg, police said on Friday.
Inspector Juanita Kilian said police had received a complaint from the post office at Jacqueline Mall in Randhart at about 10am about a ”suspicious” parcel.
”They opened the envelope and saw white powder. At this stage we cannot confirm that the contents were anthrax,” said Kilian.
Eleven members of the post office staff, police and public were ”decontaminated” at the scene and taken to hospital for observation and medication.
The parcel was sealed off by the bomb-disposal unit and taken to a police laboratory in Pretoria for forensic testing.
Kilian said it would take about seven days to determine if the substance was anthrax.
The area was evacuated and cordoned off for safety purposes.
”We do not know where the parcel came from,” said Kilian. — Sapa