Corals in an aquarium almost killed a family (7 photos)

Mike Nguyen, from Dagenham, UK, accidentally poisoned his family with a powerful toxin released by corals in his aquarium. The man, his wife, four children and sister were hospitalized.





Mike called an ambulance when he returned home from work and noticed that his family was barely responding. He himself felt unwell.

All seven family members were rushed to hospital with the effects of palytoxin poisoning. In addition, rescuers evacuated neighbors.



Mike, 42, unwittingly released a deadly poison when he trimmed corals in his £4,000, 500-litre aquarium.

After draining some of the water, he took the advice of an expert to trim off the exposed corals to stop the colony drying out.

"It all started when I noticed a leak, turned off the pump and called a repairman to come and assess the situation. He found the cause, and we started draining the water into buckets. It was important not to let the corals dry out, because they can release palytoxin. I immediately split the rock with a hammer and chisel so that the coral was under water. I did this, and my nose started to run. I was sneezing and coughing at the same time. I didn't know it was poison. To be honest, I thought it was covid."







Mike later discovered that his wife Ian, four teenage children and sister had also been affected.

"They all had high temperatures. They were all lying on the sofas, sleeping. I could barely get up the stairs and called the doctor. I was still sneezing and coughing, it looked like coronavirus symptoms," the victim said.



Six family members were discharged from Queen's Hospital in Romford the day after they were admitted, on August 10. Michael's sister remained under observation for three more days.



Corals release palytoxin when they are very hot or damaged. Zoanthus, a colonial marine reef dweller, releases the toxic substance when exposed to air. Symptoms of poisoning are flu-like and include cough, fever, chest tightness, muscle cramps and rash. There is no antidote.