(Reuters) - Dmitry Kovtun, a contact of poisoned Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, is suffering from acute radiation poisoning, Interfax news agency said on Friday, citing his medical notes.
"Kovtun has been found to have an acute form of radiation sickness, internal contamination with alpha-radiation nuclides with a developing reaction of his vital organs: the liver, kidneys and intestine," Interfax quoted an unnamed medical source as saying.
It said the source was citing doctors' reports on Kovtun's condition. Kovtun met Litvinenko in London on November 1, the day the former KGB spy fell ill. Litvinenko later died from a lethal dose of the radioactive substance polonium 210.
Russian prosecutors say Kovtun was contaminated with radiation but there have been contradictory reports about the state of his health, reports Trend.
Late on Thursday a lawyer who said he had been in contact with Kovtun's representatives denied an Interfax report that he was in critical condition.