NGO finds signs of ‘neurotoxic agent’ in Syria attack

5 April 2017, 7:12 pm

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Doctors Without Borders says its team had found victims showing symptoms consistent with toxins such as sarin gas after an attack in a rebel-held area of Syria that killed more than 70 people.

The team saw victims at the Bab al-Hawa hospital, 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of the attack on Tuesday, the charity says in a statement.

An unconscious Syrian child receives treatment at a hospital in Khan Sheikhun, a rebel-held town in the northwestern Syrian Idlib province, following a suspected toxic gas attack on April 4, 2017. (AFP Photo/Omar Haj Kadour)

“Eight patients showed symptoms –- including constricted pupils, muscle spasms and involuntary defecation -– which are consistent with exposure to a neurotoxic agent such as sarin gas or similar compounds,” the statement says.

The team also visited other hospitals where casualties were being treated “and reported that victims smelled of bleach, suggesting they had been exposed to chlorine.”

— AFP