'Rotting animal' smell permeated the air in northwest Indiana over the weekend
CHICAGO (CBS) -- We're getting some answers about a mysterious smell that invaded northwest Indiana this weekend.
A smell so bad it prompted hundreds of 911 calls.
Investigators said the smell originated at the BP refinery in whiting after a weather-related incident. CBS 2's Andrew Ramos reports, residents still have their concerns.
"It smelled like a rotting animal, like rotten eggs," said Michigan City resident Kate Brankin.
The smell was fierce and packed a punch when it came knocking at Kate Brankin's door in Michigan City, Indiana late Sunday afternoon.
"We were feeling headaches and, you know, throat pain."
She soon realized she wasn't alone after her neighbors reached out with the same complaints. Believing it was natural gas, many called NIPSCO, the gas and electric utility for the region. But, they too had no answers.
As concerns grew, residents from four counties: Lake, La Porte, Porter, and Saint Joseph called 911, inundating emergency response centers.
As county officials investigated, they determined that the source of the smell came from BP's Whiting refinery, which they said "experienced an operational disruption that triggered unplanned flaring of gases from their facility" following severe weather conditions.
Despite crews being hard at work and resolving the situation, it didn't put residents like Brankin at ease.
"Should we expect this every single time there is a small summer storm from BP? Why did this happen? Why did they not have precautions? Why did they have better communication put in place," asked Brankin.
It remains unclear what gases sparked that flare and were emitted into the air. CBS 2 reached out to BP asking for more transparency.
A spokesperson would only say that the situation is expected to be resolved in the coming hours.
The incident is also on the radar of Indiana Department of Environmental Management. A spokesperson said an air quality inspector is scheduled to be on site on Monday looking further into the incident.
CBS 2 asked for more information on what exactly was inhaled by residents. BP has not responded and would only say that the situation is expected to be resolved in the coming hours.
