Melbourne University evacuated after durian fruit's smell mistaken for gas leak

At least 600 staff and students have been evacuated from a university in Melbourne, Australia after the smell of a rotting durian fruit was mistaken for a gas leak.

"After a comprehensive search, firefighters identified the smell was not chemical gas, but gas generated from rotting durian, an extremely pungent fruit which had been left rotting in a cupboard," the Metropolitan Fire Brigade said in a statement, reported the Washington Post.

"The Environment Protection Authority will oversee the removal and storage of the waste," the firefighters' statement added.

The 'gas' that students smelt at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's (RMIT) campus library was a rotting durian that had been left in a cupboard.

Extra precaution was taken as the building is known to store potentially dangerous chemicals.

The pungent odour had made its way through the building via the air conditioning system, according to the reports.

The news swiftly garnered the attention of Twitterati.

"Specialist crews wearing masks searched the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology university campus library on Saturday, but all they found was rotting durian in a cupboard," tweeted a user.

Fresh durians are known for their distinctly unpleasant smell and likened to rotting meat or gym socks.

"Even when ripe it is known as the smelliest fruit in the world and banned from subways and airplanes around the world.

So perhaps it's no surprise that a rotting durian sparked fears of a major gas leak in a Melbourne library on Saturday, leading to the evacuation of hundreds," another user tweeted.

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