A shipwreck could be to blame for a chemical cloud which forced coastline evacuations across East Sussex last weekend.
Some 150 people were treated for stinging eyes, sore throats and vomiting after the noxious haze reached the shore from Eastbourne to Birling Gap, near Beachy Head, on Sunday.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it was examining whether the emissions came from a vessel, previously unreported lost cargo or known shipwrecks, as it continues to investigate.
Some 150 people were treated for stinging eyes, sore throats and vomiting after the noxious haze hit the shore from Eastbourne to Birling Gap (pictured), near Beachy Head, on Sunday
Various people on social media shared their experience of the strange cloud. Dan Sankey said: ‘Beautiful afternoon at Birling Gap cut short by some weird mist, burning everyone’s eyes’
An MCA spokesman said: ‘As part of our investigations we are considering a number of possibilities, such as discharges from a vessel, previously unreported lost cargo, and emissions from known shipwrecks.
‘We have identified approximately 180 vessels that passed through the English Channel off the coast of Eastbourne on Sunday August 27.
‘We are working with all relevant environmental and public health regulators to conclude these investigations. We have no further information at this stage.’
In the past, chemicals have drifted across the English Channel from European industrial units.
In 2013 concerned locals in Kent, Surrey and Sussex raised the alarm about smelly air wafting in from the sea.
Beachy Head Lighthouse was surrounded by the eerie mist that caused worrying symptoms
It was revealed a factory in Rouen, France, had accidentally released the harmless gas, mercaptan, which had wafted across the English Channel.
The unpleasant stench, which wafted further west as the day developed, became known as ‘le pong’.
But the Met Office has said weather models indicate that the chemical haze was unlikely to have come from northern France.
Sussex Police said those who required treatment experienced ‘mostly minor’ effects from the gas.
Hospital staff were seen wearing protective clothing as they checked patients over in contamination tents. Witnesses said patients were hosed down and made to change clothes