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Litvinenko contact 'is in coma' Russia poisoning inquiry widens
(40 minutes later)
A Russian businessman who met the former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko on the day he fell ill is now in a coma, Russia's Interfax agency reports. Russia is investigating the attempted murder of a contact of the former KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London last month.
Dmitry Kovtun, a security expert, met Mr Litvinenko at a bar in London's Millennium Hotel on 1 November. Dmitry Kovtun met Mr Litvinenko hours before he fell ill from the radioactive poison that eventually killed him.
Mr Litvinenko was admitted to hospital on the same day and died from radiation poisoning three weeks later. Reports that Mr Kovtun has entered a coma sparked speculation that he too may have been poisoned, though a lawyer linked to him has denied he is unwell.
Another Russian who was at the same meeting, ex-spy Andrei Lugovoi, is also in hospital. The Russian investigation is being run parallel to a British murder inquiry.
Earlier on Thursday, workers at the Millennium Hotel tested positive for low levels of polonium-210, the radioactive substance blamed for Mr Litvinenko's death. The Kremlin has dismissed allegations it ordered Mr Litvinenko's killing.
Seven workers at the hotel's Pine Bar appeared to have been exposed, the UK's Health Protection Agency said. The former spy, a vocal critic of the Kremlin, had issued a statement on his deathbed accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his poisoning.
The agency said the risk to the general public was likely to be "very low".
Russian investigation
A funeral service for Mr Litvinenko was held at a central London mosque on Thursday.A funeral service for Mr Litvinenko was held at a central London mosque on Thursday.
The former spy, a vocal critic of the Kremlin, issued a statement on his deathbed accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his poisoning. On Thursday, seven workers at a bar where Mr Litvinenko met Mr Kovtun before falling ill reportedly tested positive for polonium-120, the radioactive substance blamed for his death.
The Kremlin has described the allegation as "nonsense". The two men met at the Pine Bar in London's Millennium Hotel on 1 November.
Russian prosecutors on Thursday announced they would launch a criminal investigation into Mr Litvinenko's death and what they described as the attempted murder of Mr Kovtun. The UK's Health Protection Agency said the risk to the general public was likely to be "very low".
Speaking before the announcement that Mr Kovtun was in a coma, prosecutors said he had shown some signs of radiation poisoning.
The Russian investigation will run in parallel to a murder inquiry UK police are conducting into the Litvinenko case.