By Victoria Bekiempis and Paul DeBenedetto, DNAinfo.com Staff
THE BRONX — Dozens of people, incuding a court officer suffering from asthma, were overcome by fumes from construction work at the Bronx courthouse Thursday afternoon, officials said.
Workers were repairing the roof of the courthouse on East 161st Street earlier in the day when a court officer who suffers from asthma fell sick around 11 a.m., fire officials said.
A man also suffered a heart attack and was rushed to a nearby hospital along with the court officer, according to emergency responders.
It was not immediately known if the heart attack was due to the fumes at the Bronx Hall of Justice, which opened in 2007.
Two other people were hospitalized and 26 others were treated at the courthouse throughout the day, emergency workers said.
A spokeswoman for the Office of Court Administration said the work was stopped and the building was ventilated after people began to get sick.
Some criminal and family court cases had to be relocated, she said.
