British counterterrorism investigates for "unknown substance" – News International: Europe



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A few months after the poisoning of former Russian agent Sergej Skripal, an equally mysterious case in the United Kingdom provokes excitement: in a home in southern England two people exposed to an "unknown substance" are found unconscious.

The scene is only a dozen kilometers from Salisbury, where Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in March with the neurotoxic Novitschok. British counterterrorism has now been activated

Investigators have remained cautious in the recent case in the village of Amesbury, where a man and a woman had already been found unconscious in a house on Saturday. Wiltshire County police said the incident was "serious" Wednesday and the places where the two 40-year-old children were arrested were closed.

Several Curly Locations

At first, the police did not say anything about whether this could be a usual criminal case or a second case of writing. Angus Macpherson of the Wiltshire Police said that there was "no reason to think" that there was a connection with the Skripal case.

However, much remembered the days after the poisoning of former Russian secret agent Skripal and his daughter. later blamed the Russian government. Skripal, 66, and Julia, his 33-year-old daughter, were also found unconscious on a bench in the middle of Salisbury.

Several places where the two stayed were sealed. As in the past, samples were sent to the Chemical Laboratory of the British Army in Porton Down, report the British media

Both are in danger of death

Amesbury with the Wiltshire police, police said on Wednesday. A spokesman added that because the substance was unknown, cooperation with counter-terrorism was a "work-related" measure.

The man and woman were treated for "suspected contact with an unknown substance" at Salisbury Hospital. The couple is in danger of death. It's the same hospital where the scripts were processed.

At Amesbury and Salisbury, security has been strengthened. The Amesbury Baptist Church, where the couple had participated in a party Saturday, was also closed. Church Secretary Roy Collins told reporters that nearly 200 people had participated in the event, but that no one else had any sign of illness.

No danger to the public

One commenter does not believe that there is a "significant risk to the health of the general public". However, this assessment will be adjusted in case of new discoveries.

Police said they initially assumed that the man and the woman had taken contaminated drugs such as heroin or crack. The unconscious couple was discovered in a quiet, newly built neighborhood in Amesbury near the prehistoric site of Stonehenge.

Skripal and her daughter were found unconscious in Salisbury on March 4 and were hospitalized for weeks afterwards. The British government accuses Russia of poisoning with the Nowitschok group's neurotoxin. Moscow rejects the allegations vehemently. The case has led to a deep gap between Russia and the United Kingdom.

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Created: 04.07.2018, 13:47

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