River Thames search for chemical attack suspect Abdul Ezedi resumes after TWO bodies found
Police have resumed their search of an area of the River Thames in central London for chemical attack suspect Abdul Ezedi.
Marine police teams have been searching around the Chelsea Bridge area on Sunday. The Thames search began on Saturday, with a police boat seen circling between Vauxhall and Chelsea bridges.
The bodies of two men were found in the river on Saturday – but neither are that of Abdul Ezedi. One body was found at 10.13am on Saturday near to HMS Belfast and another at 10.39am in Limehouse the same morning, the Metropolitan Police said.
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Both deaths are being treated by the force as “unexpected pending further enquiries”. It is understood the bodies were not found as a direct result of the search operation.
Detectives believe Ezedi may have gone into the river after being seen on CCTV leaning over the railings of Chelsea Bridge in west London on the night a woman and two young girls were attacked with a corrosive substance in Clapham, south London.
The force said on Friday its main working hypothesis was the 35-year-old had “gone into” the Thames. However, police admit that Ezedi’s body may never be found due to the speed of the current in the river.
In a briefing at Scotland Yard on Friday, Commander Jon Savell said: “We have spent the last 24 hours meticulously following the CCTV, and it’s our main working hypothesis that he’s now gone into the water.
“We have looked at all of the available cameras and angles, and with the assistance of Transport for London and CCTV from buses that were travelling over the bridge at the relevant time and there is no sighting of him coming off the bridge.”
Asked whether police were willing