Abdul Yazidi: River Thames searches for Clapham attack suspect

Police search the River Thames for the body of Abdul Shakur Yazidi, a suspect in the Clapham chemical attack.

Investigators believe the 35-year-old may be dead after going into the water near Chelsea Bridge in west London on January 31 – hours after the attack.

Police said surveillance camera footage showed him walking and leaning on the bridge before disappearing from sight.

A Yazidi is accused of dousing a woman with whom he was in a relationship and her daughters with a corrosive substance.

The Metropolitan Police said on Saturday morning that searches of police boats began at low tide, around 09:00 GMT, and were taking place near Chelsea Bridge and the surrounding stretch of river.

A few hours into the operation, it was confirmed that the bodies of two men had been recovered within an hour of each other – one near HMS Belfast, in the Tower Bridge area, and the other in Limehouse, east London.

But police said neither matter was believed to be related to the investigation into the Yazidi case. Police added that officers are working to confirm their identities.

The Yazidi was last seen on the bridge at 23:27, about four hours after the attack, and was not seen leaving the area.

At a press conference on Friday, weather officers said the search on the River Thames would include boats from the Marine Police Unit.

They warned that at this time of year the Thames was flowing very quickly and full of obstacles, and that the Yazidi body would likely never appear.

Speaking at Scotland Yard, Commander John Savile said officers had spent the past 24 hours “meticulously” following CCTV and their “main hypothesis” was that the Yazidi had gone into the water.

He added: “We looked at all available cameras and angles, and with the help of Transport for London and surveillance cameras from buses that were traveling over the bridge at the right time, we did not see him leaving the bridge.” He said.

Commander Savile said there would be searches on the Thames, but it could take “some time… for the person to surface and, unfortunately, they may never be found”.

He added that the police had been in contact with a Yazidi family member “to announce this news.”

Detective Rick Siwart, who also attended the news conference, said death was the “most likely outcome” if a Yazidi went into the water.

Police did not specify how the search would be conducted, but a former senior counter-terrorism officer at the Metropolitan Police told the BBC officers would likely use technology such as sonar to search the river.

Nick Aldworth said marine police had an “intimate” understanding of the River Thames.

He told Radio 4 Today: “They know how the tides come in and out, how the eddies flow around the river – and they have a really good understanding of where a body might appear if it entered at any particular point along its length.” program.

The river theory came days after police said they believed the Yazidi was “receiving help from others” to avoid arrest, and that their investigations were targeting “more Yazidi associates” after one man was arrested on suspicion of assisting a criminal. He was later released on bail.

Searches have been continuing for more than a week, as police carried out raids in the Newcastle area on properties linked to Yazidis on Thursday.

The Yazidi, originally from Afghanistan, is believed to have arrived in the UK by lorry in 2016 – the same year he made his first unsuccessful asylum claim. He settled in north-east England and is believed to have been living in Newcastle at the time of the attack.

He is wanted on suspicion of attempted murder in the attack, which occurred on Lesser Avenue at around 19:25 GMT.

The injured woman is still sedated in hospital and there are fears that she may lose the sight in one of her eyes. Police said she and the Yazidi had a relationship that had broken down, and they had arranged to meet before the attack.

Her two children, aged eight and three, have been released from the hospital.

The suspect, who is not the children's father, suffered serious facial injuries in the attack. The police repeatedly encouraged him to seek medical care.

His asylum application was rejected twice before he successfully appealed against the Home Office claiming he had converted to Christianity.

A Yazidi was convicted of two sexual offenses in 2018, but was allowed to remain in the UK because his crimes did not amount to deportation.