UK Scrambling For Answers After Couple Poisoned With Nerve Agent

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LONDON (CBSMiami) - British police say two more people have been poisoned by the same nerve agent used to attack a former Russian double agent and his daughter.

The latest victims were found in an English town not far from the first attack in Salisbury.

Paramedics in hazmat suits stretchered away the latest victim of a military grade nerve agent on Saturday. The pair has been identified as Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess.

"We can confirm that the man and woman have been exposed to the nerve agent Novichok," said police spokesman Neil Basu.

The same type of nerve agent used in the attack on Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia that Britain blamed squarely on Russia.

Sam Hobson was with Rowley when he became violently ill.

"His eyes were all red and pricked and he started sweating loads and dribbling," he said.

Police have sealed off a park where it's believed Rowley and Sturgess had visited here recently. It's walking distance from where the Skripals collapsed last March.

Police believe they may have stumbled across a potentially lethal amount of the nerve agent used in that initial attack.

"It is completely unacceptable for our people to be either deliberate or accidental targets," said Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

Novochok can remain deadly for long periods according to chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton Gordon.

"Most nerve agents are not very persistent and last for days, possibly weeks. We understand that Novochoks were designed to last for months, so four months down the line it is obviously still toxic," he said.

Still, health officials insist the risk to the general public remains low, but they're advising people not to pick up anything they're not sure of.