Dozens of tourists had to be rushed to hospital in Spain’s Costa del Sol after being “poisoned” by their hotel swimming pool, according to a report.
At least 60 guests staying at the unnamed hotel in Benahavís, near Marbella, fell sick and had to be treated on Sunday after swimming in the pool on site, Diario Sur reported.
A regional health official said the pool’s systems governing chlorine and pH levels had stopped working while other gases were still being released, leaving swimmers queasy.
An early investigation suggests the pressure pump that injects chlorine and acid into the pool may have ruptured, sources told the newspaper.
Children and elderly people were reportedly among those in need of treatment at the nearby Costa del Sol Hospital. Sources said a number of people were also treated at the hotel itself.
Were you affected? Contact james.reynolds@independent.co.uk
Hotel guests checking into the hotel on Monday morning, at the height of the summer season, said they were told the pool would be closed all day “for maintenance”.
A van from a Malaga-based lab that tests food and water for bacteria was also seen entering the hotel premises, according to Diario Sur. It was unclear from the report whether anything had been found.
Some tourists were said to be planning formal complaints over the inconvenience. Diario Sur said that Portuguese, French, English, Ukrainian and German tourists stayed at the hotel.
Without chlorine, swimming pools can quickly become hotbeds for bacteria, viruses and algae. Entering a pool with too few chemicals can also result in itchy skin, infections and burning eyes.
According to the newspaper, the hotel declined to comment.
In a separate event, nine people were poisoned and 50 had to be evacuated following a chlorine leak at a swimming pool in Italy on Sunday, according to Rome Today.
The victims, including four children aged 10-15, were taken to hospital in critical condition after the pool pump started leaking chlorine fumes, the newspaper reported.
A five-year-old boy was taken to Sant'Andrea Hospital in the capital with respiratory problems. Investigations were still ongoing, the outlet reported on Sunday.
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