Ebola Prank Shuts Down Berlin Bar

A Berlin pub was shut down for several hours Sunday evening and dozens of police, firefighters, and emergency personnel were called out because one diner thought it was a good idea to call emergency services and say he had ebola.

According to The Local, some prankster reportedly called emergency services and said he was at the Gabiko pub in Berlin and suffering from ebola symptoms. Emergency services took the call seriously, and the pub was sealed off by 20 firefighters, along with police and emergency personnel. All the pub's customers and staff were checked for signs of illness, but it quickly became clear that the caller was not even at the pub anymore. They eventually found him at home and took him to the hospital.

The whole thing is believed to have been a prank, though, because the man was totally fine and had not just returned from a vacation in Nigeria as previously claimed.

"He wasn't ill and he hadn't been away on holiday," a spokeswoman for the fire department said.

Police are considering charging the caller with wasting time and making him pay for the emergency services response, which is estimated to cost somewhere in the five-figure range.