2023-06-29 14:39:00
It was around 12:10 p.m. on Thursday when an alarm went off at the Lago swimming pool in Mons, forcing the fifty or so swimmers who were there to get out. “Following a handling error during the delivery of chlorine and acid products by the official supplier, a toxic mixture has occurred”, communicated the swimming pool. “In order to avoid any risk of intoxication for the customers and staff present inside, the management has taken the decision to carry out the evacuation plan. This procedure has been launched only as a preventive measure, as a measure of safety. All danger has been averted.”
The Mons firefighters quickly intervened on the spot. “Two chemicals were mixed by mistake in a technical room, which caused a chemical reaction releasing chlorine into the air,” explains Captain Filippi, spokesperson for the Hainaut-Centre area. “As a precaution, the swimming pool and the refreshment bar were evacuated and the unit specializing in this type of problem was dispatched to the scene. They did not, however, have been forced to deploy all their arsenal.”
No injuries
A security perimeter was set up until around 2:30 p.m. and no injuries were reported. “The level of chlorine in the air is not harmful in the public part. The firefighters applied themselves to making the air in the technical room breathable again. In the public part, the smell of chlorine was certainly stronger than normal, but the chlorine level in the air was below the standards.
Around 2:30 p.m., firefighters left the scene. The swimming pool will remain closed for the rest of the day this Thursday. “We are relieved that the staff and visitors were quickly and calmly brought to safety and that the procedure was well followed. We are now focused on securing the area and reopening the aquatic center,” concludes Eric Rousseau, director of the Center.
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