© Gareth Fuller/PA/ZumaThe beach at Birling Gap in Eastbourne, UK. This stretch of coastline was evacuated on Aug. 27 after a mysterious chemical cloud descended upon the beach.
A mysterious chemical cloud descended on beaches in England on Sunday (Aug. 27), according to news reports, and authorities are puzzling over what caused it and why it sickened more than 100 people.
As the cryptic cloud fogged up the shoreline, several beaches in East Sussex were evacuated and residents were advised to close their windows and doors, The Independent reported yesterday (Aug. 28).
Still, nearly 150 people who were exposed to the cloud needed medical treatment for problems such as stinging eyes, sore throats and vomiting, according to The Independent.
The chemical composition of the cloud is not clear. "What it was, it smelled like burnt plastic," Bob Jefferey, a deputy launching authority at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution Eastbourne division told The Guardian.
One beachgoer tweeted, "Some sort of chemical incident at Birling Gap, eyes are streaming and there's a strong smell of chlorine in the air."
Another beachgoer told The Guardian that doctors who treated her said she had been exposed to ammonia.
Authorities are still investigating where the cloud came from.
"Neither the gas nor its source have been established, but agencies are continuing to investigate and have not ruled out either on-shore or off-shore locations, although it does appear that it did sweep in from the sea driven by on-shore breezes," the Sussex police said, according to The Independent.
It's unlikely, however, that the cloud drifted across the English Channel from France, the Sussex police said. (Chemical clouds have drifted across the English Channel from Europe in the past, but British officials said Sunday's weather would not have caused this, according to The Independent.)
Jay Merrell, a weather forecaster from the U.K.'s national weather service, said the cloud may have been caused by a ship offshore, but added that nothing conclusive had been proved, according to the Associated Press.
By Monday, the cloud had mostly dissipated, The Guardian reported.
Think about the response when someone mails in a powder to a govt facility.. They know if it is anthrax within hours. These people were sent home and the media is viewing this is a big mystery... If the cloud hung around for an ENTIRE DAY why was a sample not collected?!
Sadly, if we learned anything from hurricane Harvey's follow-up reporting, "any efforts to evacuate would have caused more harm" .. so the public can't EVER be told what is coming or what is happening...
[Link] Even more sad, I'm having to reference an opinion piece from nytimes, however the writer claims to have taken part in reviews of previous evac from Rita.. The take-away, to save lives, they WON'T try to save lives... (Some random lady actually caught wind of true expected rainfall and sounded the alarms over social media.. Local govt called her "fake news" and she was harassed to the point of her having to disable social media accounts! .. people are now "sorry" for bashing her)
I would be fine if they stated that they had no idea where it came from, but not even knowing what is was sounds fishy.. Chlorine is fairly easy to recognize, just ask any human being that has been to a public pool..