A mysterious foul smell came from the Helsinki area from the east

On Sunday, March 31, in the afternoon in Helsinki and neighboring towns, along dozens of kilometers of coastline, residents felt a foul odor resembling sulfur fumes, burning tires or garbage.

The Finnish police and other agencies participated in explaining the causes of this phenomenon

An intense, unpleasant odor of unknown origin could be felt on Sunday afternoon in Helsinki and neighboring towns, along the tens of kilometers of coastline. According to media, the stench – reminiscent of sulfur fumes, burning tires or garbage – could have emanated from St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Finnish police and other services, including meteorology and radiation safety, as well as the border guards, which investigated the case in the waters of the Gulf of Finland, participated in explaining the causes of the phenomenon. The authorities of neighboring Estonia have also been contacted. The first reports were received to the emergency center between 14-15 (13-14 Polish time).

The source of the strange smell has not yet been determined

– The source of the strange smell has not yet been identified, but according to current data it does not pose a health risk – the Helsinki emergency service informed early in the evening, confirming that no increase in radiation was detected. If the unpleasant odor is particularly intense in a place and causes breathing difficulties, residents are advised to close their windows.

“The wind came from the east,” MTV News reported. It was noted, according to Russian media, that residents of the city of St. Petersburg had been complaining of a similar unpleasant odor for several days, and the winds were blowing in southern Finland on Sunday from that direction.

At the same time – it has been confirmed – it rules out previous media assumptions that the smell might be linked, for example, to a volcanic eruption in Iceland.