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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/aug/27/birling-gap-evacuated-after-chemical-incident-on-east-sussex-coast
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| Birling Gap evacuated after 'chemical incident' on East Sussex coast | Birling Gap evacuated after 'chemical incident' on East Sussex coast |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Emergency services have warned people on the East Sussex coastline to stay away from beaches and keep doors and windows closed after a chemical “haze” descended on beach goers. | |
| Birling Gap, near the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs, was evacuated by emergency services after people complained of irritation to their eyes and throats. | |
| Police said an unknown “haze” coming from the sea had left up to 50 people along the coast from Eastbourne to Birling Gap requiring assistance. | |
| East Sussex fire and rescue service said the “chemical incident” was ongoing. | East Sussex fire and rescue service said the “chemical incident” was ongoing. |
| Sussex police said the incident appeared to have been caused by “an unknown haze coming in from the sea,” but the exact source had not yet been established. | |
| The first report came from Birling Gap just before 5pm on Sunday. | The first report came from Birling Gap just before 5pm on Sunday. |
| The RNLI said that “possibly some kind of gaseous fumes” had drifted over the area and a significant number of people on cliff tops had suffered symptoms including irritation, sore eyes and vomiting. | |
| Fears that people could be trapped on the beach resulted in RNLI lifeboats being launched 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, affecting a number of people. | |
| Rebecca Balldock, 21, from St Albans, was near Beachy Head with friend Jacob Ward, 21, and boyfriend Scott Smith, 20, when the haze arrived. | |
| “We were at the beach for the day with the drone to take some photos of the cliffs. We went for a swim and when we got out, our eyes were itching. We thought it was because we’d been swimming in the sea, but it kept getting worse and worse,” she said. | |
| “When we were climbing up the steps to get off the beach, we were all crying and could hardly see. People were getting up from the beach and rushing for the stairs to get away. | |
| “When we got to to the top, some medics took us to wash our eyes and told us there was a chemical incident. But even when we’d washed our eyes, we were crying again.” | |
| Smith first noticed the effects of the haze when his nose became blocked and his eyes started to sting, but said the “mist” was odourless. | |
| “We look like we were all crying,” he said. “When we got to the car, some ambulances and two fire engines arrived. We just sped away as quickly as we could.” |