RUSSIA:A second Russian businessman who met murdered ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko on the day he fell ill is now sick from radiation poisoning, local media reported yesterday.
Andrei Lugovoy has damage to vital organs consistent with exposure to dangerous levels of radiation, Interfax news agency reported, the same condition that killed Kremlin critic Mr Litvinenko in London on November 23rd.
Mr Lugovoy's business partner Dmitry Kovtun is also in hospital and Mario Scaramella, an Italian contact of Mr Litvinenko, has undergone treatment in London for the effects of contamination.
Mr Litvinenko, who was buried in London on Thursday, blamed Russian president Vladimir Putin for poisoning him, a charge the Kremlin denied.
Mr Lugovoy was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying in a telephone interview he was "all right".
"The doctors have listed my condition as stable. Today I spent the whole day undergoing necessary medical procedures," the agency quoted him as saying.
Interfax said its information on Mr Lugovoy's condition came from his medical notes. "Disruption in the functioning of some organs affected by radiation nuclides has been found [ in Mr Lugovoy]," it quoted a source as saying.
"Lugovoy's condition is considerably better than that of Kovtun, but he also has symptoms of contamination."
There have been contradictory reports about Mr Kovtun, who met Mr Litvinenko in London along with Mr Lugovoy. Some said he was in critical condition, however a lawyer who was in touch with his representatives told Reuters those reports were wrong.
Health experts are preparing to check for radiation at the Russian Today television studio where Mr Lugovoy gave an interview on November 24th.
Checks have already been made at two other locations where he has been in Russia - the Ekho Moskvy radio station and the British embassy.
A small trace was found at the embassy.
Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun met Mr Litvinenko at London's Millennium Hotel on November 1st for what Mr Lugovoy described as a business meeting. He has denied any part in Mr Litvinenko's poisoning and offered to help police.