A couple are fighting for their lives after being “poisoned” by an unknown substance that is undergoing testing at the Porton Down defence laboratory.
A major incident has been declared after Charlie Rowley, 45, and Dawn Sturgess, 44, were taken ill in Amesbury following exposure to the substance on Saturday.
Counterterror police have joined the investigation “because of the circumstances surrounding the incident” and the nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in nearby Salisbury in March.
The couple remain in a critical condition in Salisbury District Hospital but Public Health England said there was not believed to be a significant health risk to the wider public.
Wiltshire Police said they were initially feared to have used contaminated heroin or crack cocaine but further testing is ongoing and investigators are keeping “an open mind”.
Downing Street said the prime minister was being given updates on the situation. The incident will be discussed at a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee on Wednesday evening.
Live Updates
Investigators will be subjecting blood, hair and urine samples from Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess to extensive laboratory testing as they look to establish what caused them to fall critically ill, according to chemical weapons expert Jerry Smith.
The former inspector with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons told Sky News:
Because of the sensitivities, because of the recent past, I would suggest they will be making sure they're absolutely certain because clearly if you look at some of the scenarios that could fold out from this, some of them are pretty serious and so they'll want to make sure they're absolutely spot on, which I have no doubt that they will be.
Asked if it was possible that the couple could have been exposed to remnants of the novichok nerve agent that poisoned Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal, Mr Smith added:
That is one of the scenarios. It is very early days yet and it wouldn't be great to start jumping the gun here. There's clearly some potential narratives that could end up being something associated with the Skripal case, but it could just be something that would be a byline in the news if it was any other city.
• A property at John Baker House, Rolleston Street, Salisbury
• A property on Muggleton Road, Amesbury
• Boots the Chemist, Stonehenge Walk, Amesbury
• Amesbury Baptist Centre on Butterfield Drive, Amesbury
"We continue to work closely with experts from Public Health England who emphasise that, based on the number of casualties affected, it is not believed that there is a significant health risk to the wider public."
Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills confirms that locations cordoned off around Amesbury and Salisbury were frequented by the two patients before they fell ill.
"At this time, no one else is receiving treatment as a result of this incident," he adds. "Our priority is understanding the circumstances that led to these people falling ill."
Couple 'poisoned' in major incident at Wiltshire are named
Friend describes Mr Rowley acting 'like zombie' hours after his girlfriend fell unconsciousSam Hobson, 29, told reporters that he saw Ms Sturgess being taken out of Amesbury Baptist Church at 11am on Saturday.
Mr Rowley slumped into a "zombie-like state" several hours later at his home in Muggleton Road, he claimed.
"We were preparing clothes to take to Dawn in hospital," Mr Hobson told South West News Service. "He felt ill and went for a shower. Then his eyes went bloodshot and like two pin pricks, he began garbling incoherently and I could tell he was hallucinating.
"He was making weird noises and acting like a zombie. He slumped against the wall.
"Everybody is saying it's drugs related but Dawn doesn't take drugs. This doesn't make any sense - I can't see why they'd be targeted, it's completely random."
Our current advice, based on the number of casualties affected, is that it is not believed that there is a significant health risk to the wider public. We will keep this assessment under constant review as further information becomes known.
No further details have emerged yet from Salisbury District Hospital, where the couple are being treated.
Cara Charles-Barks, chief executive at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, said in a statement: "Two people are undergoing treatment at Salisbury Hospital.
"We are working with the police to understand the circumstances surrounding this incident and it would be inappropriate to make further comment at this time, while we establish how they became unwell."
A Downing Street spokesman said: "This is an incident which understandably is being treated with the utmost seriousness.
"Ministers and the Prime Minister are being kept updated and there was a meeting this morning of officials to receive updates on the facts of the situation."
What is a major incident like the one in Amesbury? And why are they declared?
Status invoked in cases with potentially 'serious consequences' to help coordinate multiple organisations"We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause customers and patients, and our team are available to direct patients towards our Salisbury Street store where they will be able to access their prescription medicines."
Counterterror police join investigation into suspected Amesbury poisoning
Police say they are 'keeping an open mind' on the circumstancesPlease allow a moment for the live blog to load
The flat where the couple were found unconscious, in Muggleton Road, Amesbury, is one of several sites in the town and nearby Salisbury that have been cordoned off by police.
Nearby resident Chloe Edwards described seeing police cars, fire engines and people in “green suits” on Saturday night.
“We were just eating our dinner and all these emergency vehicles turned up,” the 17-year-old student said.
“They were putting on these green suits and we thought it was the gas as our electricity was turned off as well.”
Ms Edwards said the vehicles arrived at about 7pm and she and her family were told to stay inside their home until about 10pm.
“We wanted to know what happened and with the Russian attack happening not long ago, and we just assumed the worst,” she added.
“I am not sure how long they were in there but we couldn’t get out of the house for two-and-a-half hours.”
She added that firemen had connected a hosepipe to the water mains – a procedure that is commonly used for decontamination.
The incident comes almost four months after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were attacked with a military-grade nerve agent in Salisbury.
The pair have since left hospital and are recovering in secret locations amid an ongoing diplomatic row between the UK and Russia, which has denied any involvement.
Police have not confirmed any link to the patients in Amesbury and they have not yet been identified.
It is believed that one of the last places the couple were seen in public was a family fun day at Amesbury Baptist Church, which has since been cordoned off, on Saturday afternoon.
Roy Collins, church secretary, said: ”Last weekend we held a community fundraiser and we understand this may well be the last event this couple went to in public.
“We are all quite puzzled and shocked – naturally the connection with Salisbury and recent events there mean there is a heightened public interest.
“We are praying for the couple, one of our members knows them and clearly there are concerns for them and any others in the community.
“They are not church members or regulars.”
Mr Collins said around 200 people attended the event, including many families and children, but “nobody else has suffered any ill effects”.
