Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
(West Valley City-AP) -- Workers at the Sundance Catalog warehouse got an extra surprise with a shipment of handmade baskets from Tanzania.
A bunch of poisonous brown recluse spiders had stowed away for the trip.
The early December discovery forced the evacuation of 120 employees. They had to stay out for a day while exterminators were brought into the West Valley City warehouse to do their work.
The company doesn't know how many spiders there were. But it was enough to cause alarm for employees' safety. But the company says no employees were bitten.
It's NOT known where the spiders got on board. The shipment of 300 decorative African baskets also made a stop in North Carolina.
Baskets from the infested shipment were sent to eight customers around the country. Sundance officials contacted recipients to explain, and says there appears to be NO bites in customers, either.
The Sundance Catalog Company is popular among the celebrity circles of founder and part-time Utah resident Robert Redford.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)