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LONDON – British authorities began a large-scale security investigation after the collapse of two people near Salisbury, the city where, four months ago, a former Russian spy and his daughter were exposed to a deadly nerve agent. Two victims, a man and a woman, both in their forties, fell ill on Saturday in a town house in Amesbury, about eight miles north of Salisbury. They were in critical condition at Salisbury District Hospital, authorities said.
The investigators initially suspected a drug overdose, but said that other tests were underway and that 12 agencies were involved. Samples were sent to Porton Down, the country's leading laboratory for chemical and biological weapons.
The police did not say what pushed them to expand their investigation, but health authorities in the region remained on alert for months. of the nerve agent, part of a strain developed by the Soviets called Novichok.
Police said that an intervention team was initially called home at Amesbury, where a 44-year-old woman had fallen ill and sent back a few. Hours later at the same address, it is said that a 45-year-old man had also collapsed.
On Wednesday, the police cordoned off a number of places where the couple was before getting sick, including the Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury, which is a short walk from where the Spy, Sergei V. Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, lost consciousness. They also completed a portion of John Baker House in Salisbury, a service residence.
"Our priority at this point is to understand the circumstances surrounding the departure of these people," said Paul Mills, Wiltshire's deputy chief. Police, which covers the area. The British reports identified the two as Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess
Sam Hobson, who saw the couple the day they became ill, told Sky News that the woman was in the bathroom when she had a crisis. , foaming at the mouth. A few hours later, when his friend collapsed, he sweated profusely, making noises and swaying back and forth. "There was no answer for me – he did not even know I was there," he says. "He was in another world, he had hallucinations."
The Skripal were hospitalized for weeks after their poisoning in early March. Investigators said that the substance had probably been applied to the handle of the entrance door of Mr. Skripal's house and that she had probably gone through their skin for several hours, rendering them unconscious after leaving a restaurant in the center of Salisbury.
Health officials proceeded with an extensive decontamination process, warning residents of Salisbury that there could still be toxic "hot spots" in some areas and that a deep clean could take months.
"The chemical does not break down quickly" Ian Boyd, chief scientific advisor to the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said at a meeting of the city in Salisbury April 19th. " You can assume that it is not very different now. "19659013]
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