The image of a couple in a passionate clinch as a riot rages around them was not all it seems.

The image above appears to show a couple lying on the street locked in a passionate kiss as the Vancouver hockey riots raged around them. Taken by Canada-based photojournalist Richard Lam, the photo quickly went viral and was carried on news sites around the world.



The couple's identity was not known. Lam said that he couldn't tell whether they were kissing, or if one of them was hurt. "I keep looking at the picture but I don't know what I think anymore," he said.

Now it looks as though the less romantic option may be true. An eyewitness, William, contacted the Vancouver Sun and said that the couple were knocked over by two riot police: "The girl who was knocked over landed head first on the pavement with her boyfriend landed partially on top of her. She was in visible pain, crying, but the two officers gave them a parting shove and moved on. Bystanders went to make sure she was OK."

Several readers sent in another version of the photo (above) which shows the couple from another angle, appears to corroborate this.

An Australian news website, NineMSN, claims to have identified the man in the photograph as Scott Jones, a 29 year old Australian who has been living and working in Vancouver for six months. It identifies the woman as Alex Thomas, a Canadian. According to the report, lots of his friends had posted on his Facebook wall about the story, and he replied: "Classic! This was shortly after the riot police run over the top of us and naturally Alex needed some comforting."

Officials in Vancouver said almost 150 people required hospital treatment and almost 100 were arrested during the riot.

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