“Swimmers caught in cloud of chlorine gas”
22 May 2007
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Holidaymakers claimed they were left to cope alone after a cloud of chlorine gas was released at a holiday-park swimming pool, causing vomiting and breathlessness.
Eyewitnesses described the scene as chaotic as dozens of people suffered the side-effects of exposure to chlorine at Seashore Holiday Park on North Drive, Yarmouth, on Sunday.
Nine ambulances were called from across Norfolk and Suffolk to treat people. Twenty-five adults and children were taken to the James Paget University Hospital, while dozens more people were treated by paramedics at the park.
Most people drank water to try to wash out their mouths, which paramedics later said was the worst thing they could have done, as it meant people were ingesting the gas.
Health and Safety Executive officials from Yarmouth Borough Council launched an investigation yesterday and began to take statements from staff.
Health and safety manager Peter Astel said he would not speculate on how a cloud of chlorine gas was released but that a chemical reaction could change it from its liquid form into a gaseous state.”