"Chemical" Deaths in Putney Lead to Traffic Chaos

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Police and fire engines surround area where two women died

Dozens of police cars, fire engines and ambulances surrounded a block of flats on the corner of Pentlow Street and Lower Richmond Road in Putney after the bodies of two women were discovered in a second floor flat at 10.40am on Thursday morning.

There were rumours among onlookers that the deaths involved a suicide pact and the sight of firefighters using breathing apparatus prompted suspicions that some kind of chemicals were involved.

One of the firefighters waiting at the scene said they had been called in case "decontamination" was required.

Local residents were asked to stay indoors.

By late afternoon, the street remained cordoned off and and vehicles belonging to the emergency services were parked across a wide area.

The 22 bus did not run for most of the day, and traffic on Lower Richmond Road and across Putney Bridge into Fulham was at a standstill. The bus service was restarted around 4.30pm with traffic beginning to move more smoothly.

September 30, 2010