'Suspicious' envelope sent to Canadian Consulate

Turkish officials were put on alert on Friday after the Canadian consulate in Istanbul reported receiving an envelope containing an unidentified yellow powder on Friday morning. 

The German and Belgium consulates also reported suspicious envelopes in their incoming mail, reinforcing the consulates' alert as well. Receiving letters with suspected material has prompted immediate precautions. All events at the consulates have been cancelled for security, although the consulates have not been closed. 

The officials in the Canadian consulate said, "One person, who opened the letter, has been exposed to the substance directly and six others in the same environment have been exposed indirectly."

An emergency squad from Turkey's disaster management unit, or AFAD, was immediately sent to the Canadian office, which is located on the 16th-storey of a business center in the Levent district.

The team, made up of chemical, nuclear and radiology experts, examined the mystery package and conducted further tests on staff, who were exposed to the substance when the envelope was opened in the office.

"The air conditioning system was immediately shut down in the room where the envelope was opened, and people who could have been exposed to the substance were evacuated from the consulate office as a precaution," said AFAD in its statement.

"The experts delivered the samples, which were taken from the suspected substance, to a team from the Health Ministry for further examination at a public health laboratory in Ankara," said AFAD.