Couple ‘critical’ after exposure to Skripal poison
A COUPLE are fighting for their lives in hospital after being exposed to remnants of the nerve agent that nearly killed a former Russian spy and his daughter.
Dawn Sturgess, 44, and Charles Rowley, 45, fell desperately ill within hours of visiting Salisbury – site of the attempted assassination of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
They had visited a park near which the Skripals were found collapsed in March.
UK police confirmed they had been exposed to novichok, which is one of the most toxic substances known to man. Even a pinprick of it can kill.
Security chiefs held a late-night meeting of the UK government’s emergency response committee, Cobra, last night.
Friends said Mr Rowley and Ms Sturgess were hallucinating and foaming at the mouth before they collapsed.
Relatives said they were in a critical condition and remain in medically induced comas at Salisbury hospital. The UK authorities face urgent questions over whether the expensive Salisbury decontamination operation has failed.
Ms Sturgess, who is a mother of three, was rushed to hospital on Saturday morning after collapsing at her boyfriend’s home in Amesbury, around 11km from Salisbury.
Mr Rowley, who relatives said is a recovering heroin addict, fell ill around eight hours later.