Skripal poisoning town declared decontaminated
LONDON: The English town of Salisbury is officially decontaminated, the government said, almost a year after it was the scene of a nerve agent attack on Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal.
The former double agent’s house and 11 other suspect sites have been ruled safe after an 11month clean up by military teams in the sleepy town in Wiltshire, southwest England.
Skripal and his adult daughter were discovered unconscious on a Salisbury park bench on March 4 after they were poisoned by what investigators said was a highly toxic nerve agent, Novichok.
The British government says the attempted assassination was “almost certainly” approved by the Russian state.
“The completion of cleanup work ... marks a significant milestone in South Wiltshire’s return to normality following the sickening Novichok nerve agent attack last year,” said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Skripal’s home was partially dismantled as part of the decontamination, requiring a “sealed frame” to be erected around the building – which sits on a quiet cul-de-sac – before military teams took down the roof.
“Work will begin shortly to reconstruct and refurbish the house so it can return to being a home again,” said Alistair Cunningham, chair of the South Wiltshire Recovery Coordinating Group.
“Salisbury has proved it is resilient, positive and looking forward and we are working on a range of regeneration projects and events to focus on an even better future for the city and south Wiltshire,” he added.
The decontamination team of around 190 military personnel and contractors took 5,000 test samples from across the town and nearby Amesbury, where Dawn Sturgess was fatally poisoned in July.
The 44-year-old died after coming into contact with a perfume bottle thought to have been used in the Skripal attack.
Other sites include the park bench where the Skripals were found collapsed, the Zizzi restaurant where they had eaten, and the home of a police officer who was exposed to the poison.
Wiltshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills called Friday “an important milestone”.
“To say this has been an unprecedented year for policing in the county would be an understatement.
“The generosity of spirit shown to our officers on the cordons in all weathers and during all hours has been humbling.”