DUBAI: A suspected acid attack sent hundreds of panicked revelers running and screaming down the street at London’s Notting Hill Carnival at the weekend.
Several people were injured when they fled after an “acidic liquid” was thrown over the crowds at the popular event that is attended by thousands and a further three people complained of suffering skin irritations.
Police are investigating the incident, but no one was arrested after the liquid was thrown over people gathered at London’s St. Charles Square on Sunday evening.
A London Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Some of the crowd in the area then quickly dispersed, which caused injuries, who have since received treatment from the London Ambulance Service at the scene… Three people have also reported skin irritation injuries, although these are not thought to be serious.”
Video footage showed the moment panicked crowds fled the scene.
In a separate incident the following day a man threw a liquid in the face of 24-year-old Jessica Noah Morgan, and told her it was acid. She said that after a moment of panic she realized the liquid was not acid as she was not burning.
She told Mirror Online that she turned to the man and shouted, telling him that it was not funny pretending it was an acid attack and he punched her in the face.
Notting Hill Carnival is held every year on the last weekend of August and is attended by thousands of people.
There are regularly arrests made for a series of offenses, usually related to drink, drugs, violence and robbery.
The Saudi Arabian embassy in London recently warned its nationals and residents to take extra when visiting the British capital after a series of acid attacks, some of which left people horrifically disfigured from the burns they suffered from the highly acidic liquid used.