Pool chlorine leak drama

Published: 6:16 AM May 21, 2007

Updated: 2:12 AM February 18, 2021

FIFTEEN people, including a four-month-old baby, were taken to hospital suffering from vomiting and shortness of breath last night after a chlorine leak at a holiday park swimming pool.

Nine ambulances were called from across Norfolk and Suffolk to treat people who had been swimming at Seashore Holiday Park on North Drive in Yarmouth.

Fifteen adults and children were taken to hospital, while dozens more people were treated by paramedics at the park.

The drama unfolded just after 5pm when chlorine was accidentally released into the pool complex housing up to 100 swimmers.

Many began vomiting and complained of breathing difficulties, causing a major alert.

The first ambulance arrived six minutes after the 999 call was made and found staff at the park treating the worst patients with oxygen masks.

Thirteen patients were originally taken to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, including young children and one grandmother, while the four-month-old baby was also later taken to the hospital by their parents.

Another child was taken to hospital with skin soreness after an ambulance was called back to the park early in the evening. A male paramedic also suffered nausea and a sore throat.

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: “This incident was on a very large scale and required a tremendous effort from our frontline crews who attended the scene and those who remained and worked hard to cover a very large area.

“It was a very unpleasant scene, with adults and children vomiting and having trouble breathing, but the treatment was co-ordinated extremely well and hopefully all of the patients are now feeling much better.”

Five rapid response vehicles and ambulance officers were also at the scene while a non emergency ambulance and the East of England Ambulance Service's (EAAS) major incident vehicles were placed on standby.