British police declare "major incident" near Salisbury after 2 found unconscious

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London, Jul 4 (PTI) A man and a woman are in critical condition after being exposed to an "unknown substance", prompting British police to declare a "major incident" as they were found unconscious near where a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned with a deadly nerve agent.

The pair, in their forties, was found unconscious in a property Saturday in what was supposed to be in a drug. An incident related to Amesbury, Wiltshire, the BBC reported today.

Further tests on the substance are being done to identify it, the report said.

Amesbury is about 16 kilometers from Salisbury, where the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with Novichok, an alleged neurotoxic agent, in March

Police said they were "open-minded" about the cause after that. " a couple was found in a house. at Muggleton Road, Amesbury.

While police said that a number of locations in Amesbury and Salisbury, known to have been frequented by the couple, had been cordoned off.

"It was initially thought that both patients had become ill." Possibly using heroin or crack in a batch of contaminated drugs, "says the Wiltshire Police

" They are currently being treated for suspicion of exposure to an unknown substance at Salisbury District Hospital. "It is believed to have attended a day of family fun at the Amesbury Baptist Church on Saturday afternoon before that they were not found unconscious in the property.

Roy Collins, church secretary, said: "no one else has suffered"

"He n & # 39; There have been no other reported incidents, "he said.

" We are all very perplexed and shocked – of course, the connection with Salisbury. "

Local resident Jake Murphy said that he was watching the football game Tuesday night when "all these police cars appeared." [19659012] "I did not know what was happening A spokesman for the government said the ministers were" kept informed of the incident in Amesbury ".

Angus Macpherson, Commissioner of Police and Crime of Wiltshire, said the police had "

" There is no reason to think that this has anything to do with the events of last month ", he said.

"I did not see anything in this incident that I would consider an exaggerated reaction.

Public Health England stated that she did not believe that there was a "significant risk to health" for the general public, although her opinion is continually evaluated.

The hospital where the pair was admitted was "open as usual" and the March incident in Salisbury sparked a diplomatic dispute between the UK and Russia after British investigators had criticized Moscow for the attack of a nerve agent.

Russia has denied the allegations, but more than 20 other countries have expelled Russian diplomats from their country to show their support for the United Kingdom.

Since leaving the hospital, Skripal and his daughter Yulia have both been deported. PTI AKJ AKJ AKJ