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Emergency services have cordoned off a number of areas in Amesbury, Wiltshire , after two people were found collapsed following suspected exposure to an unknown substance which police have declared a “major incident” .
Initially officers believed the pair fell ill after taking a “contaminated batch” of heroin or crack cocaine, but it has not been identified and emergency protocols used in the aftermath of a nerve agent attack in nearby Salisbury are in place, including drafting in counterterror police who are now working on the investigation.
Major incidents are declared at the discretion of local services, but are invoked to manage emergencies “with a range of serious consequences which require special arrangements”, according to the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme .
These usually require coordination across some or all of the emergency services, the NHS and local authorities and significant additional resources.
A Wiltshire police major incident planning document , which includes plans for a plane crash in the town, says it could involve a large number of casualties, large numbers of people, lots of media enquiries and large scale resources.
In Amesbury the response has already involved the local hospital, ambulance service and fire service as part of the police investigation and haz-mat [hazardous materials] response.
Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichokShow all 40 1 /40Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Forensic investigators, wearing protective suits, emerge with bagged evidence from the rear of John Baker House in Salisbury, after it was confirmed that two people living in Amesbury had been poisoned with the nerve-agent Novichok.
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Dawn Sturgess, a mother-of-three from Durrington, died after being exposed to novichok
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok British police are scouring sections of Salisbury and Amesbury in southwest England, searching for a container feared to be contaminated with traces of the deadly nerve agent Novichok.
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Officers hope that Charlie Rowley, whose partner Dawn died in hospital, can help them establish how the couple came to be contaminated
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok An investigator in a chemical suit works behind screens erected in Rollestone Street
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Fire and Rescue Service personel arrive with safety equipment at the site of a housing estate on Muggleton Road, after it was confirmed that two people had been poisoned with the nerve-agent novichok, in Amesbury
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Forensic investigators at John Baker House
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Police and military personnel seized a car from a quiet residential street in Swindon as part of their ongoing investigations into the nerve agent incident in Salisbury and Amesbury
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Emergency workers in military protective suits search the fenced off John Baker House
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Forensic investigators at John Baker House
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Emergency services arrive at John Baker House
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Dorset Fire and Rescue Service at the house
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Tents set up by search teams are seen at the end of Rollestone Street, outside the John Baker House for homeless people in Salisbury. British police are scouring sections of Salisbury and Amesbury in southwest England, searching for a container feared to be contaminated with traces of the deadly nerve agent Novichok.
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Dorset Fire and Rescue Service at the house in Muggleton Road
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Fire and Rescue Service safety equipment
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Police activity at the house in Muggleton Road
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Emergency services arrive at John Baker House
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Fire and Rescue Service safety equipment
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Emergency services arrive at the house in Muggleton Road in Amesbury
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Members of the emergency services at the house in Muggleton Road
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Gas masks
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Fire and Rescue Service personel prepare safety equipment
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Police investigators arrive at the site of a housing estate on Muggleton Road
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok A police officer stands guard behind the housing estate
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Police on the scene
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok The couple remain in a critical condition at Salisbury District Hospital
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok In March Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were poisoned with the Russian-made Novichok in the town of Salisbury. British Prime Minister Theresa May has accused Russia of being behind the attack on the former spy and his daughter, expelling 23 Russian diplomats in retaliation
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok British police are cordoning off places the people are known to have visited before falling ill
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok British police officers stand outside a residential property in Amesbury
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Deputy Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police Paul Mills makes a statement to the press outside The Bowman Centre after Wiltshire Police declared the situation a major incident
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Amesbury Baptist Centre
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Amesbury resident Sam Hobson, speaks to assembled press outside Amesbury Baptist Centre claiming to be a friend of the man and woman exposed to an unknown substance
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok The pair were found unconscious at an address in Muggleton Road, Amesbury
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Police cordon at Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury. The town is around 10 miles from Salisbury where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in a suspected nerve agent attack
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Deputy Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police Paul Mills makes a statement
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Police officers stand outside Boots pharmacy, near to the Barcroft Medical Centre in Amesbury
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Amesbury major incident after couple exposed to novichok Amesbury Baptist Centre
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The authorised professional practice guide of the College of Policing says a major incident may last for several days and usually requires the adoption of a "Gold tier" command and control structure.
This top tier, also known as strategic command, is for those who coordinate the response across all the emergency services, usually led by the police commander.
The strategic coordinating group will consider what equipment should be deployed, and what legal powers could be enforced.
It also gives the officers in charge control of budgets and enables them to move resources between the different groups involved.
Wiltshire Police recently declared another major incident in Salisbury , the town where former Russian military officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were victim of a nerve agent attack.
Skripal attack aftermath – in picturesShow all 15 1 /15Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Scene of attack Members of the emergency services in hazard suits fix the tent over the bench where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury in March 2018.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Victim - Sergei Skripal The retired Russian colonel and former double agent for MI6 was in a critical condition in hospital for more than two months after being exposed to novichok in Salisbury. He was given refuge in the UK after being jailed in Moscow for treason. Mr Skripal came to Britain as part of a high-profile “spy swap” in 2010 in which four men were exchanged for ten Russian "sleeper agents" in the US. In this image he is speaking to his lawyer from behind bars in Moscow in 2006.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Victim - Yulia Skripal Yulia Skripal was struck down by a novichok poison alongside her father Sergei.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Scene of attack A police officer stands guard outside a branch of the Italian chain restaurant Zizzi where the pair dined at before falling ill. It was boarded off whilst investigators worked on the building and later found traces of the chemical weapon within it.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Scene of attack Large areas of central Salisbury were cordoned off by police following the discovery of the Skripals. Traces of nerve agent were also found in The Mill pub.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Victim - Nick Bailey Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, rushed to the aid of the Russian ex-spy and his daughter who were targeted with a nerve agent. He was hospitalized after aiding them and didn't leave until three weeks after the attack.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Police investigation - Skripal’s home Police believe they were poisoned at home, and detectives found the highest concentration of novichok on the front door of Mr Skripal’s house.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Theresa May visits scene of attack Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May spokes with Wiltshire Police's Chief Constable Kier Pritchard near where the Skripal's were found. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats over the nerve agent poisoning and suspended high-level contacts, including for the World Cup on March 14. Theresa May told parliament that Russia had failed to respond to her demand for an explanation on how a Soviet-designed chemical, Novichok, was used in Salisbury.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Skripal days before attack Sergei Skripal days before he was exposed to Novichok, that has left him fighting for life.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Police investigation - military involvement British soldiers were deployed soon after the attack to help a counter-terrorism investigation into the nerve agent attack. One of the places they were asked to help out with was Skripal's home and it's surrounding. They were asked to remove a vehicle connected to the agent attack in Salisbury, from a residential street in Gillingham.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Police investigation Personnel in protective coveralls and breathing equipment cover an ambulance with a tarpaulin at the Salisbury District Hospital.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Police investigation The investigation extended to the grave of Sergei Skripal's son Alexander in London Road cemetery.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Police investigation The Counter Terrorism Policing Network requested assistance from the military to remove a number of vehicles and objects from Salisbury.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Home Secretary visits scene of attack Home Secretary Amber Rudd visited the scene of the nerve agent attack at the Maltings shopping centre on 9 March.
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Skripal attack aftermath – in pictures Yulia Skripal speaks for the first time Yulia Skripal, speaking for the first time, said she felt lucky to have survived the nerve agent attack in Salisbury which left her fighting for life. Ms Skripal said her life had been “turned upside down” by the assassination attempt. But the Russian national added she hoped to return to her homeland one day, despite the Kremlin being blamed for the attack.
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The Amesbury pair are now in Salisbury District Hospital where the Skripals were treated and while police said it was “not clear if a crime has been committed”, the precautions used in the latest case are similar.
Areas they visited that day, including Amesbury Baptist Church, which was hosting a family fun day, and the Queen Elizabeth Gardens, are cordoned off.
A decontamination shower has also been brought in, according to Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Angus Macpherson, police and crime commissioner for Wiltshire, said there was no reason to think it was “in any way connected to the Skripal case at this moment".
He told the BBC: “I haven’t seen anything in this incident yet that I would consider to be an overreaction, it all seems fairly textbook.”
More recently fires on Winter Hill and Saddleworth Moor in Lancashire and Greater Manchester became a major incident with the army called in to assist fire services to prevent further damage and loss of life.