Daily Star

HERO COP HIT BY RUSSKI NERVE AGENT

Poison spy rescuer fighting for life

- By JERRY LAWTON jerry.lawton@dailystar.co.uk

A BRAVE bobby who tried to save poisoned ex-spy Sergei Skripal was last night fighting for his life alongside him in hospital.

The hero officer, first on the scene, was seriously ill in intensive care after the targeted “hit” using a deadly nerve agent.

Docs give 3 victims antidotes A BRAVE bobby who tried to save poisoned spy Sergei Skripal was last night fighting for life alongside him in hospital.

The officer was the first on the scene when Sergei, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia collapsed. They were exposed to a nerve agent which caused their organs to shut down. Last night the father and daughter remained critically ill as doctors supplied them with an antidote. The police officer who tried to help them was also in intensive care after last night after his condition deteriorat­ed. Nine others thought to have come into contact with the chemical have been discharged. Hundreds of detectives have been assigned to what police said was a fast-paced investigat­ion into attempted murder. They are probing if the attack was linked to Russian president Vladimir Putin, whose government handed over Sergei to the West in a 2010 spy swap. At the time Mr Putin said on Russian TV: “Traitors will kick the bucket. Trust me.” Metropolit­an Police assistant commission­er Mark Rowley described Sunday’s attack in Salisbury, Wilts, as “an awful incident”. He added: “We are now treating this as a major incident involving an attempted murder by the administra­tion of a nerve agent.’’ Medics had identified the nerve agent but it was not being made public. Forensic officers in chemical suits were continuing to search the places Sergei and Yulia visited before they collapsed at The Maltings shopping centre at 1.30pm. Experts from the government’s chemical defence laboratory at Porton Down were working to analyse the nerve agent. Russian officials denied any knowledge of the attack.

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 ??  ?? ® SAFETY FIRST: Police wear protective suits in Salisbury yesterday and, below, a woman is led to an ambulance following an alert in the city. Inset: CCTV of Sergei Skripal in shop last week Picture: ITV NEWS VICTIM: Yulia LINK: Rowley
® SAFETY FIRST: Police wear protective suits in Salisbury yesterday and, below, a woman is led to an ambulance following an alert in the city. Inset: CCTV of Sergei Skripal in shop last week Picture: ITV NEWS VICTIM: Yulia LINK: Rowley
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