Shocking picture shows ‘broken storage freezer’ inside Wuhan’s virus lab

Deleted photos taken from inside a Wuhan virus laboratory, where scientists had been studying coronavirus before the outbreak, show apparent damage to a freezer containing samples of deadly pathogens.

The rare glimpse inside the secretive Chinese laboratory was first released in 2018 by the China Daily newspaper.

They were again shared last month before being deleted – adding fuel to the fire of those believing the pandemic began inside the lab.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology had been experimenting on diseased bats in the aftermath of the SARS epidemic, and identified strands from animals 1,000 miles away that are now believed to be the original hosts of what is Covid-19 in humans.

Those bats were said to have been on sale at the nearby wet-market, but these photos will do little to quell suspicions among those who put the lab at the centre of the world storm. One comment, on a since deleted Twitter post, read: ‘I have seen better seals on my refrigerator in my kitchen.’

The re-emergence of the lab photos comes amid reports the Chinese government failed to warn the public of a likely pandemic for six days. It then reportedly took the first case outside China, in Thailand on January, 13, for Beijing to recognise the crisis and put in place a nationwide plan to find cases.

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The United States, which had been spending $3.7m a year to fund research at the lab, has now said the money will be cut off following the pandemic.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo is also urging China to ‘come clean’ over whether the virus had leaked from the lab.

Mr Pompeo said China should ‘let the world in and let the world’s scientists know exactly how this came to be, exactly how this virus began to spread’.

The Trump Administration has been accused of trying to deflect attention away from their own actions, with nearly 40,000 people dying from coronavirus in the US.

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