Belfast women claimed she 'came into contact with Novichok' sparking major emergency response
Crews were called to reports of a woman saying she had come in contact with the deadly nerve agent Novichok
A woman in Belfast claimed she came into contact with Novichok nerve agent on a residential street in Belfast.
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Firefighters sprayed the street with water, while emergency crews inspected a property on Harper Street.
Crews were called to reports of a woman saying she had come in contact with the deadly nerve agent Novichok at 10:15am.
Residents on the terraced street have been told to evacuate their homes as emergency services dealt with the incident.
Three ambulances, an NI Ambulance Service Incident Response unit and support units were at the scene as well as at least four NIFRS appliances.
It is believed the incident has now ended. The woman is in the care of ambulance crews and it is now being treated as a concern for safety.
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The Police Service of Northern Ireland said in a statement: "Police and emergency services are currently in attendance in the Harper Street area of east Belfast today. We are aware of speculation in relation to the nature of this incident, at this time, there is not believed to be a wider threat to the public."
Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service and the Ministry of Defence have been contacted by LBC for comment.
Novichok, meaning newcomer in Russian, refers to a group of advanced nerve agents which shut down the nervous system, developed in the 1970s and 1980s in the former Soviet Union.
The nerve agent was used in a 2018 assassination attempt by Russia in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned. While they survived, the discarded poison in a perfume bottle later killed a local Brit, Dawn Sturgess.
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