For the second time in four months, two people lie critically ill in
England's Salisbury District Hospital after being exposed to a
military-grade nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union, British police
confirmed late Wednesday.
The country's chief counterterrorism police officer said tests at
Britain's defense laboratory had confirmed what many residents feared — a
man and woman in their 40s had been poisoned with the same toxin that
almost killed a former Russian spy and his daughter.
"We can confirm that the man and woman have been exposed to the nerve
agent Novichok, which has been identified as the same nerve agent that
contaminated both Yulia and Sergei Skripal," said Assistant Commissioner
Neil Basu of London's Metropolitan Police.
Local police declared the case a "major incident" Wednesday, four days
after the man and woman were found collapsed at a residential building
in Amesbury, eight miles (13 kilometers) from Salisbury, where the
Skripals were poisoned.
Basu said it was not clear whether there was a link between the two
cases, and whether the nerve agent came from the same batch that left
the Skripals fighting for their lives.
"The possibility that these two investigations might be linked is
clearly a line of enquiry for us," he said, amid speculation that the
victims could have been sickened by residue from the poison used on the
Skripals.
Basu said it was unclear whether the two were targeted, but there was "nothing in their background to suggest that at all."
Residents of the area felt a grim sense of deja vu. Four months after
their quiet corner of England was plunged into a Cold War-style saga of
spies, chemical weapons and international tensions, they wondered
whether it was happening all over again. Britain accuses Russia of
attacking the Skripals; Russia denies it.
"With the Russian attack happening not long ago, we just assumed the
worst," said student Chloe Edwards, who said police and fire engines
descended on a quiet street of newly built homes in Amesbury on Saturday
evening.
Edwards said she saw people in green suits — like those worn by
forensics officers — and her family was told to stay indoors for several
hours.
Police said officers were initially called Saturday morning about a
collapsed woman, then were summoned back in the evening after a man fell
ill at the same property. Police at first thought the two, identified
by friends as 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess and 45-year-old Charlie Rowley,
had taken a contaminated batch of heroin or crack.
Initially, the investigation was led by local police, but Basu said
counterterrorism detectives were taking charge after the substance was
identified as Novichok. He said 100 officers had been assigned to the
case.
Prime Minister Theresa May's office said she was being kept updated on
the case, "which understandably is being treated with the utmost
seriousness." The government's emergency committee, known as COBRA, met
Wednesday and was due to convene again Thursday.
Even before the poison was confirmed as Novichok, the emergency
services' response echoed that in the case of Sergei Skripal, 67. The
former Russian intelligence officer was convicted of spying for Britain
before coming to the U.K. as part of a 2010 prisoner swap.
He had been living in Salisbury, a cathedral city 90 miles (145
kilometers) southwest of London, when he was struck down along with his
33-year-old daughter Yulia, who was visiting him.
The Skripals' illness initially baffled doctors after they were found
unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury. Scientists at the Porton Down
defense laboratory concluded they had been poisoned with Novichok, a
type of nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
After spending weeks in critical condition, the Skripals were released
from the hospital and taken to an undisclosed location for their
protection. Doctors say they don't know the long-term prognosis.
Britain accuses Russia of poisoning the Skripals, a claim Moscow
strongly denies. The case sparked a diplomatic crisis between Russia and
the West, including the expulsion of hundreds of diplomats from both
sides.
The two Amesbury victims were at Salisbury District Hospital, which also
treated the Skripals. Police said the victims are British citizens and
live in the area.
Neighbors on Muggleton Road in Amesbury, where Rowley is believed to
live, said they did not know the couple well and didn't know what they
did for a living. Most residents have only recently moved to the new
houses and apartments.
Sam Hobson, a friend of the couple, said he was with them on Saturday,
when Sturgess fell ill first. He told Sky News she was "having a fit,
foam coming out of her mouth." Rowley collapsed later the same day.
"He was sweating loads, dribbling. ... He was rocking backwards and
forwards," Hobson said. "There was no response from him. He didn't even
know I was there."
Police cordoned off a home in Amesbury, believed to be Rowley's, and
other places the pair visited, including a church, a pharmacy and a park
in Salisbury, near where the Skripals were found.
Salisbury and surrounding towns have only recently begun to recover from
the frightening weeks at the center of an international spy drama.
Police from 40 departments in England and Wales returned home in June
after months working on the Skripal case, and specially trained workers
have spent months decontaminating sites around the city.
The British government has pledged 2.5 million pounds ($3.3 million) to
local businesses to make up for lost revenue in the area, which is a
gateway to Stonehenge, the ancient stone circle that is a huge tourist
destination.
"Amesbury's a lovely place — it's very quiet, uneventful," said resident
Rosemary Northing. "So for this to happen, and the media response and
the uncertainty, it's unsettling."
Justin Doughty, who lives across the street from the cordoned-off house,
said residents want more information from the authorities.
"We don't know, to be honest now, because is it linked to Salisbury or
is it drug-related?" he said. "None of us is being told anything by the
police, and it would be nice to know something."
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Lawless reported from London. Danica Kirka in London contributed to this story.
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