By Olivia Scheck and Mariel S. Clark
DNAinfo Staff
MURRAY HILL — A "suspicious odor" caused the evacuation of part of the United Nations on Tuesday.
The General Assembly Hall and the Security Council, both located in the Headquarters or Secretariat Building in the Turtle Bay complex, were evacuated after several reports of "a gas smell" about 10:30 a.m., a spokesperson for the Secretary General said.
"We were just kind of hanging out in the dining area waiting to find out if they were going to tell us to go home or get back to work," said Mike Messina, 45, a cameraman for the UN, as he and fellow workers stood outside the visitor's entrance during the evacuation.
The areas were evacuated "to investigate suspicious odors" which were determined to be non-toxic though the spokesperson would not confirm the source of the smell.
Employees were told they could return to work shortly after noon, the spokesperson said.
Visitors to the U.N. were turned away from the entrance after the evacuation and as of 12:30 p.m. were not being let back in.
