Boat Carrying Durians Capsized; People Picked Them Up To Eat & Got Food Poisoning

When it rains, it pours. So they say.

But instead of rain droplets, a tsunami of durians came crashing down against the shores at Guangxi on 26 Aug 2020.

Upon seeing hundreds of these thorny fruits floating on sea waters, throngs of people on the beach scrambled to the waters.

They had one aim in mind:

To get their hands on as many free durians as possible.

It seems that these freebies are too attractive.

Despite authorities and other locals advising the general public not to bring them home, hundreds of people still continued.

363 people down with food poisoning after eating durians

There’s no free lunch in this world.

Many of those who ate the durians experienced stomach upset or vomiting bouts.

As of 27 Aug, 363 people were down with food poisoning. None of the patients was in critical condition.

The situation was so serious that the local authorities had to release a statement, urging the general public to refrain from consuming or selling food from unknown sources.

Where The Durians Came From

So, why was there a sudden windfall of durians at the sea of Guangxi?

Turns out that the boat carrying the durians capsized while travelling over there.

Ok. The boat merely capsized. No big deal. Except, there’s a twist in this story.

Soon after the boat capsized, the captain of the vessel left instead of waiting for the authorities to help.

After a thorough investigation, it was revealed that no relevant documents were provided to import these durians and the boat might have been trying to smuggle said durians into the country illegally.

There’s no official confirmation with regards to the import status of these fruits yet.

Though we can’t find durians while strolling along the beaches here, we can still get them conveniently.

Simply head down to the long stretch along Geylang Sims Avenue, also known as Geylang Durian Street, to pick and choose your durians.

One thing is for sure, the durians won’t leave a salty taste in your mouth.