Emergency services are at the scene in the east of the city
A woman has claimed she has come into contact with the Novichok nerve agent – sparking a serious incident in Belfast.
Emergency services are at the scene in the east of the city.
Firefighters sealed off a section of Harper Street in the Short Strand area of the City shortly after 10.15am.
The Belfast Telegraph understands crews were called to reports of a woman saying she had come into contact with Novichok.
The contact with the nerve agent has not been verified as yet.
However, emergency services are treating the report with the necessary seriousness.
Residents on Harper street have been asked to evacuate their homes as emergency services deal with the incident.
Emergency crews are currently inspecting a property in the area.
Three ambulances, an NI Ambulance Service Incident Response unit and support units are at the scene as well as at least four NIFRS appliances.
Residents told the Belfast Telegraph the woman who made the call is currently in the property and is being dealt with by emergency services.
It is understood first responders were told the woman had taken the nerve agent.
“Novichok”, which means “newcomer” in Russian, refers to a group of advanced nerve agents – highly toxic chemicals that prevent the nervous system from working properly – developed by the former Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s.
Novichok was used in the Salisbury poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March 2018. Both are believed to have made a full recovery.
Dawn Sturgess, a mother of three, died after spraying herself with a fatal dose of Novichok left in a discarded perfume bottle.