Grounded Planes, Another Suspected Poisoning...

By sizemore Last edited 208 months ago
Grounded Planes, Another Suspected Poisoning...
polonium210.GIF

The radiation poisoning story certainly has a long half-life and shows no signs of slowing down. Now BA have had to ground aircraft after finding traces of radiation on board:

British Airways discovered traces of radiation on two of its aircraft flying to Moscow when police told them to check aircraft visiting the Russian capital after the death of Alexander Litvinenko. Three of BA’s Boeing 767s were tested, but the airline said today that only two showed “very low traces of a radioactive substance”. The Health Protective Agency would not say if it was polonium 210, the radioactive isotope that poisoned the former KGB spy. The aircraft were immediately withdrawn from service, but the airline and toxicologists said there was little risk to the public.

And just to add another twist it now turns out that former Russian PM Yegor Gaidar fell violently ill in Ireland:

He fell ill last week, a day after Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB spy, died in London from an apparent radiation poisoning. Gaidar is now in a stable condition at an undisclosed Moscow hospital, undergoing tests. In a telephone interview with the FT, Gaidar said the doctors had so far been unable to identify the cause of the violent vomiting and bleeding that he suffered during a conference in Ireland. Anatoly Chubais, his former associate and the head of Russia's electricity monopoly, said he suspected Gaidar may have been poisoned.

Crikey. This snippet we found from The Moscow Times shows that Gaidar's daughter was recently more than a little outspoken about Putin:

The daughter of former Prime Minster Yegor Gaidar, Maria, and a second protester rappelled off a bridge near the Kremlin on Thursday and hung a banner criticizing President Vladimir Putin's government for changes to election law. The duo unfurled a 15-meter banner reading "Return the Elections to the People, Bastards!" and hung from the Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge for more than 30 minutes before police and emergency workers hauled them up and detained them.

Now that's how you stage a protest. Back in London the police have identified a man they wish to question, but this one looks to rumble on for some time yet.

Last Updated 30 November 2006