2 Bangladeshi men hospitalised after ‘acid attack’ in London
Two Bangladeshi young men have been rushed to hospital after being attacked with a noxious substance on a busy street in east London.
The attack – the latest in a series of similar incidents this summer – took place at around 7pm on Roman Road in Tower Hamlets, east London on Tuesday.
Eye witnesses say police officers were flagged down by two Bangladeshi men who claimed they had been sprayed with acid.
According to reports, they ran into an off-licence with the burning liquid on their clothes and faces. The shopkeeper poured water over the pair while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.
They were treated at the scene before being taken to hospital.
Witness reports stated the pair were shouting: “We have got acid on us, we have got acid on us.”
The shopkeeper added: “They were pouring water over themselves and it had got into their clothes. They were crying, ‘put water on me’. Their faces and their legs were all burnt.”
Another witness, who did not want to be named, said the pair had stripped down to their waists on the street and were helped by passersby as they waited for the emergency services.
Pictures on social media show the men being helped by firefighters – and images show a jacket with its material singed.
The number of reported attacks using corrosive substances has leapt in recent months, with a reported 65% rise in 2016, when there were 450.
The Metropolitan police has given response vehicles 1,000 acid attack kits this week after a rise in the number of crimes involving corrosive liquids. It includes protective gear and five-litre bottles of water, to allow officers to administer immediate treatment to victims.
On Monday MPs debated the spike in the use of corrosive substances as a weapon – while the Met police’s deputy commissioner, Craig Mackey, told the Greater London Authority’s police and crime committee that officers believed it was being used more frequently by gang members as a weapon.
With the government looking at how to reclassify noxious substances to take into account their growing use as weapons, the deputy commissioner added: “The impact this sort of attack has on people is extraordinary. Many of us have been unfortunate to see quite a bit in our services but acid attacks are really extraordinary and strike at something quite horrific in people’s psyche.”
Speaking about the incident this evening, a Metropolitan police spokesman said: “Officers were flagged down in the area at 7pm on Tuesday 25 July by the two males who are believed to be aged in their late teens. London Ambulance Service attended the scene. Both have been taken to an east London hospital for treatment after an unknown liquid was thrown at them. Their injuries are not life threatening. No arrest have been made and inquiries are ongoing.”
Source: The Guardian
