The British Ministry of Defense has deployed about 180 military personnel to Salisbury in an effort to investigate the nerve gas attempted murder attack of an ex-Russian spy and his daughter.
The MOD personnel are a mix of troops from the Army, Royal Marines, and RAF and are experts in chemical warfare and decontamination.
Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia remain in a critical condition after being exposed to a nerve agent.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd will chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee, Cobra, on Saturday.
She has described Sunday’s attack as “outrageous”.
Those deployed include instructors from the Defence Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Centre and the 29 Explosive Ordnance Group, who are experts in bomb disposal.
Members of the military were seen covering over a police car that has been at Salisbury Hospital since Sunday, before men dressed in white hazardous materials suits examined it.
It was later towed away from the hospital, covered by a tarpaulin, on the back of an Army truck.
Officers are also expected to secure Mr Skripal’s car.
Specialist officers have also put up a tent over the grave of Mr Skripal’s son, who died last year, at Salisbury cemetery.
The Metropolitan Police said the counter-terrorism unit has requested the military’s assistance “to remove a number of vehicles and objects from the scene”, including ambulances that may have been contaminated while assisting the victims.
The public should not be alarmed and there is no evidence to suggest a wide public health risk at this time, the police added.
Mr. Skripal and his daughter had visited a pub and a restaurant before being found unconscious on the park bench nearby last week. Both remain in critical condition in the hospital.
A British first responder who treated both at the scene is also in the hospital in serious but stable condition after being contaminated by the same nerve agent.
To read the entire article from the BBC, click here:
Photo courtesy Wikipedia