The prosecutor's office in Darmstadt, Germany, has opened an investigation into "attempted murders" by poisoning at the university in that city, investigators said on Tuesday.

Seven people were victims in this technical university near Frankfurt of a "poison attack" according to the Faculty of Darmstadt, one of whom is in critical condition.

They had consumed food or drinks in which "a harmful substance" had been introduced in particular in milk packets and water containers "between Friday and Monday", according to a joint statement from the police and the prosecution.

They were hospitalized in the middle of the day on Monday.

The state of health of a 30-year-old student, between life and death, remained "critical," police said Monday.

No further information has since been released.

A bluish coloration of the extremities

Seven people were left with "serious health problems up to symptoms of poisoning," police said in a statement.

According to the daily

Bild

, these victims, students and employees, all consumed drinks from a vending machine and a kitchen at the Institute of Materials Science in Darmstadt.

They then complained of feeling bad and discovered that their arms and legs were turning a bluish color.

The exact substance could not be established at this point but it is characterized by a peculiar "pungent odor", according to investigators.

During the night of Monday to Tuesday, the police searched all the buildings on the campus but without major discovery.

"There is currently no acute danger" on campus, police said.

Specialists from the criminal police of the regional state of Hesse, in which Darmstadt is located, have access to products seized by the police, the ingestion of which by victims has led to the appearance of symptoms.

A cell of 40 investigators has been set up to try to elucidate these mysterious poisonings.

"We are shocked by what amounts to a crime"

Police called on anyone feeling unwell or showing symptoms such as "bluish color in the extremities" on the body to contact an emergency doctor immediately.

All the victims had consumed food or drinks in the same building of the university, added the police who had deployed in numbers Monday afternoon after the discovery of the first cases.

“We are shocked by what amounts to a crime that has happened at our university,” said university president Tanja Brühl.

The police and the management of the Technical University have advised students, professors and employees to no longer consume food and drink stored on campus premises.

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