--- description: Fears of a gas leak caused around 500 people to be evacuated from a university library in Melbourne. The culprit? A rotting durian fruit title: A Rotting Durian Caused Evacuations At A Melbourne College image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt896814555b79801e/69892f0b22fb85dc99e257a1/rtx3cji6.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Australia](/tag/australia/) ## Australia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Rotting Durian Fruit Prompted a Gas Leak Scare and Evacuations on a Melbourne College Campus by [Laignee Barron](/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 30, 2018 3:20 AM CUT  Participants take photos of durians after the Durian Run, a charity event, in Singapore on July 23, 2017. Participants take photos of durians after the Durian Run, a charity event, in Singapore on July 23, 2017.Edgar Su—Reuters by [Laignee Barron](/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 30, 2018 3:20 AM CUT Fears of a gas leak caused around 500 students and staff to be evacuated from a university library in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday. But instead of poisonous vapors, the 40 firefighters and specialists called to the scene found a [rotting durian](http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/hundreds-evacuated-after-major-gas-leak-at-rmit-city-campus/news-story/89e59fffdee175914bc722432b9c02a7 "undefined") fruit stashed in a cupboard, according to the _Herald Sun_. Melbourne’s Metropolitan Fire Brigade had sent out an [alert](https://twitter.com/vicemergency/status/990119671297789952 "undefined") about a possible chemical hazard at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology after the smell of gas was reported at the campus library. A fire brigade spokesperson told the _Sun_ that the odorous Southeast Asian fruit set off alarms after it filtered through the air conditioning. In a [statement](http://www.mfb.vic.gov.au/News/Rotten-afternoon-on-campus.html "undefined") titled “Rotten afternoon on campus,” the Metropolitan Fire Brigade said firefighters gave the “all clear” after the smelly fruit was located and removed. “After a comprehensive search, firefighters identified the smell was not chemical gas, but gas generated from rotting durian,” it said. > [](https://twitter.com/RMIT/status/990134372933058561) Durians, dubbed the king of fruits, are a sharply divisive creature. Notorious for their prickly outer shell and pungent aroma, which is often likened to rotting trash or gym socks, they are also relished for their creamy, sweet interior. Durians are banned from Singapore’s subway system and from many hotels around Asia. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5259241/rotting-durian-gas-leak-scare-rmit-library/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5259241/rotting-durian-gas-leak-scare-rmit-library/"},"headline":"A Rotting Durian Fruit Prompted a Gas Leak Scare and Evacuations on a Melbourne College Campus","datePublished":"2018-04-30T03:20:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:07:15.950Z","description":"The smell of rotting durian had permeated the campus library's air conditioning system","url":"https://time.com/5259241/rotting-durian-gas-leak-scare-rmit-library/","keywords":["Australia","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt896814555b79801e/69892f0b22fb85dc99e257a1/rtx3cji6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laignee Barron","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt896814555b79801e/69892f0b22fb85dc99e257a1/rtx3cji6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Participants take photos of their durians after the Durian Run in Singapore","caption":"Participants take photos of their durians after the Durian Run in Singapore","creditText":"Edgar Su—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/australia/","name":"Australia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5259241/rotting-durian-gas-leak-scare-rmit-library/","name":"A Rotting Durian Fruit Prompted a Gas Leak Scare and Evacuations on a Melbourne College Campus"}}]}] ```