In an incident that ominously mirrors a series of similar attacks in Havana that left more than 20 State Department employees with serious injuries, a health alert has been issued to US citizens in China after an American government worker suffered symptoms from what appeared to be some kind of sonic attack.
The US Embassy in China issued the following statement this morning in response to the incident:
A U.S. government employee in China recently reported subtle and vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure. The U.S. government is taking these reports seriously and has informed its official staff in China of this event. We do not currently know what caused the reported symptoms and we are not aware of any similar situations in China, either inside or outside of the diplomatic community.
The description of the sound – which the victim said produced abnormal sensations and pressures – sound eerily familiar to a series of similar “sonic attacks” that afflicted US embassy personnel in Havana, beginning shortly after President Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race.
Though their source has never been determined, the attacks damaged relations between the US and Cuban governments and also left some embassy employees with mild brain damage. The US recalled most of its embassy staff from Havana before expelling 15 Cuban diplomats from Washington in response to the alleged attack.
The US then accused the Castro regime of not doing enough to protect Americans in Cuba, despite the regime’s promise to do everything it could to investigate. It was also reported that some of the attacks happened in a Havana hotel room, according to Reuters.
The incident in China occurred just as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is preparing to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Washington late Wednesday, and as trade talks between the US and China appear to have reached an impasse.
The employee who was injured reported hearing “subtle and vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure,” according to a copy of the alert obtained by NBC. It warns any US citizen who experiences similar sensations to move quickly move somewhere else.
“We do not currently know what caused the reported symptoms and we are not aware of any similar situations in China, either inside or outside of the diplomatic community.”
“While in China, if you experience any unusual acute auditory or sensory phenomena accompanied by unusual sounds or piercing noises, do not attempt to locate their source. Instead, move to a location where the sounds are not present.”
Like several of the victims in Havana, the unnamed individual who was the target of the sonic attack in China also experienced a mild traumatic brain injury.
Meanwhile, a team of scientists at the University of Michigan say they may have found the source of the mysterious sounds. They said that two sources of ultrasounds – such as eavesdropping – may have been placed too closely together, provoking an intense sound like the one described by the victims, according to the Miami Herald.
However, whether the scientists didn’t say whether the attacks were accidental or intentional.
It is also unclear if the Chinese and Cuban incidents are linked.
via RSS https://ift.tt/2x6unPg Tyler Durden