Alex Trelinski
A PALMA airport employee nearly died after drinking a coffee contaminated by insects from a vending machine.
The 21-year-old woman spent 36 hours in intensive care after suffering a severe allergic reaction.
She was admitted on Monday and left the ICU on Wednesday to continue her recovery in the hospital.
The Policia Nacional are investigating possible charges of breaching public health and causing injury through recklessness.
The victim, who works for an airline, went to the vending machine at around 10.30am on Monday.
According to witnesses, as soon she drank it, she noticed a strange taste, and after stirring the contents with a spoon, she spotted several insects.
An anaphylactic shock was triggered and her face started to swell and she suffered breathing difficulties.
Palma airport health staff gave her medicine to stabilise her condition and she was taken to hospital.
The woman, who has asked for anonymity, said: “I remember getting my coffee and 10 minutes later, I started to feel sick.”
She went to the bathroom, and after returning she saw some insect antennas and wings in the paper coffee cup.
The worker phoned Deli Corner who owned the vending machine and sent them a photo of the cup’s contents via her phone.
They offered her a 50 cent refund, but she refused saying that she did not want anybody else to go through what she endured.
“Soon afterwards, I said to my partner, I can’t see,” she recalled.
“I wasn’t that scared because I hardly noticed as I lost consciousness.”
“When I arrived at the ICU, my boyfriend was told that he should be thankful that a dead body didn’t arrive,” she added.
Her family have filed a complaint with the Policia Nacional against Deli Corner, who switched off the machine shortly after Monday’s incident.
