Traces of radiation related to death of former Russian spy found in Germany

German police said on Saturday they had found "indications" of radiation at two sites in and near Hamburg related to a contact of poisoned former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.

In a statement, police said the traces of radiation in Hamburg in an apartment of the ex-wife of Dmitry Kovtun, a business man who met Litvinenko in London on Nov. 1, the day the former Russian spy was believed to have fallen ill.

Police also found indications of radiation in the apartment of Kovtun's ex-wife's mother in Haselau, west of Hamburg. Further tests are needed to determine whether the contamination was linked to polonium-210, a highly radioactive substance that killed Litvinenko on Nov. 23, the statement added.

However, investigators found no trace of polonium-210 in the apartment of Kovtun himself in the Hamburg district of Ottensen.

According to the statement, the traces found so far would bring no health risk to local residents. However, some 30 people living in the apartment building in Hamburg would have to leave it to facilitate investigations.

Police began searching the apartments of the people who had have contacts with Kovtun after media reports said that Kovtun had flown to London from Hamburg.

Kovtun was reportedly being treated in Moscow, also for radiation poisoning. Investigators said they believe that Kovtun could have been in contact with polonium-210.

Source: Xinhua