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Police issued a warning on Sunday after chemical “haze” left up to 50 people on Britain’s south coast suffering irritation to their eyes and throats.
Sussex police urged people to keep doors and windows shut in the affected area, between the resort town of Eastbourne and Birling Gap, a few miles along the coast.
Police also warned people to stay away from the beaches, on a busy public holiday weekend.
The RNLI said that “possibly some kind of gaseous fumes” had drifted over the scene and a significant number of people on cliff tops had been struck down with symptoms including irritation, sore eyes and vomiting.
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Fears from the coastguard that people could be trapped on the beach saw the RNLI launch all-weather lifeboats from Eastbourne and Newhaven to the Birling Gap area. There was a doctor on board the Eastbourne lifeboat. A spokesman said: “We have been checking along the shoreline to try and ensure that everyone is safe.” He said a “plume” had drifted across the area bringing “some sort of substance” with it which seemed to affect a number of people.
A spokesman said: “This seems to have been caused by an unknown
haze coming in from the sea.”
Twitter user Kyle Crickmore wrote, “Some sort of chemical incident at Birling Gap, eyes are streaming and there’s a strong smell of Chlorine in the air.” Sameer Jadhav added: “Birling Gap some weird gas leak. People crying. Ambulances called. Don’t go to Birling Gap at the moment” Dan Sankey wrote on Twitter: “Beautiful afternoon at Birling Gap cut short by some weird mist, burning everyone’s eyes which led to the beach and cliff being evacuated.”
The coastline is a popular area with dog walkers and is a busy hotspot for tourists and locals enjoying the bank holiday weekend.
Reuters and PA