Five suspects and one police officer from Mangochi Police Station were Tuesday morning rushed to Mangochi District Hospital for treatment after inhaling large amounts of teargas which one officer fired accidentally within the police offices.

An insider said at around 8 am one of the officers was checking a riot gun which he uses and he accidentally pulled the trigger, leaving the reception and the entire campus engulfed in teargas.

The source said the most affected were the suspects in the police station’s cell and the police officer at the reception while the rest within the campus managed to run to safety.

“The suspects and the woman police officer fell unconscious and they were rushed to the hospital in that state for treatment,” said the source.

Mangochi Police Station publicist, Rodrick Maida, declined to comment on the incident and referred this reporter to the National Police spokesperson James Kadadzera who confirmed the incident.

“It is very true that one of our officers accidentally fired teargas when he was handling his weapon.

“I can confirm that five suspects and one of our officers were rushed to the hospital after inhaling the tear gas,” Kadadzera said in a telephone interview.

He further said police were treating the incident as an accident “unless investigated and proved otherwise.”

Managochi District Hospital spokesperson, Harold Kabuluzi, said later that the six were in stable condition and would be discharged the same day.

(Written by Kondwani Magombo/Malawi News Agency)