CHEMICAL INCIDENT UPDATE: Man remains in hospital

A pensioner remains in hospital after being covered in a chemical powder at a flat over the weekend.
Medical incident. Photo by Eddie MitchellMedical incident. Photo by Eddie Mitchell
Medical incident. Photo by Eddie Mitchell

Emergency services were called to the flat in Mill Bay Lane, Horsham, on Sunday (December 27) after a 76-year-old man came into contact with the substance.

The Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) were called to the incident and retrieved the man and two others from the flat. All three were taken to hospital.

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Police said the man remains in hospital in a stable condition.

A spokesman for the fire service said the powder was mercuric iodide. However, in a police statement released today (Tuesday December 29) officers said the powder had yet to be identified.

Richard Davy, deputy district commander at West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said only one property had been affected and the substance was not one you would expect to find in a domestic home.

Paramedics along with members of the Hazardous Area Response Team, firefighters and police officers attended at around 1.15pm and cordoned off the road as a precaution. It was reponed at around 4.30pm.

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Officers said the incident is no longer being treated as a police matter.

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