Search for Vancouver's canoodling couple in 'kiss amid the chaos'

(RICH LAM/GETTY IMAGES)

It cannot be said that the occasions were equal in poignancy, but a photo taken during the chaos of riots in Vancouver has nevertheless drawn comparisons with Alfred Eisenstaedt's iconic image of a couple kissing in Times Square following the surrender of Japan and end of the Second World War.

This image of a kiss amid chaos went viral last night as people shared it across social networks, and news websites across the world were desperately seeking the couple pictured.

Freelance photographer Richard Lam thought he had captured a kind man helping out an injured woman until he showed the shot to his editor.

"I noticed in the space behind the line of police that two people were lying in the street with the riot police and a raging fire just beyond them," he said. "I knew I had captured a 'moment' when I snapped the still forms but it wasn't until I returned to file my photos that my editor pointed out that the two people were kissing."

Some thought the picture was too perfect to be a natural shot, and suggested it might be staged.

Despite calls from Canada's national broadcaster for them to come forward, the couple remained elusive last night.