Sky News named the symptoms of victims at the scene of the poisoning of a former GRU officer: eye irritation and difficulty breathing

British emergency workers who visited the site where former GRU colonel Sergei Skripal was poisoned complained of eye irritation and shortness of breath. A source in the UK government told Sky News about such symptoms in the victims.

Police had previously confirmed that "a small number of emergency personnel" required medical attention. All of them, with the exception of one person, were soon discharged from the hospital.

What kind of substance poisoned Sergei Skripal has not yet been established. There was a version that it could be fentanyl, an opioid analgesic that is used in anesthesia. This version is not consistent with the Sky News report about the symptoms in the victims.

Employees of the anti-terrorism units were involved in the investigation of the case. At the same time, the British police said that they did not consider Skripal's poisoning a terrorist attack.

• Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were hospitalized on the evening of March 4. They are in critical condition. The victims were found unconscious on a bench in a shopping center in Salisbury.
• Skripal was sentenced in Russia to 13 years in prison for high treason. In 2010, he was exchanged for Russian intelligence agents exposed by US intelligence agencies.