Chlorine mix-up puts hotel guests in hospital

Toxic gas created as pool maintenance chemicals formed harmful blend at four-star spa resort

CHLORINE gas that was “accidentally created” at a luxury hotel resulted in seven of its guests being admitted to hospital.

Customers at the Solent Hotel and Spa in Whiteley, Hampshire, were taken to A&E suffering breathing problems after the incident on Monday evening.

The gas had affected guests in the spa area of the hotel, said Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service.

“The incident resulted in multiple people requiring medical treatment for the inhalation of gas,” it added,

A total of 24 guests, ranging from children to some aged in their 50s, were taken to University Hospital Southampton for assessment.

Seven of them were admitted, but all have since been discharged.

“Crews were called following reports that a number of hotel guests had been overcome by fumes in the spa area after two chemicals were accidentally mixed together and created chlorine gas,” a spokesman for the fire and rescue service said. A ventilation fan was used to clear the fumes and firefighters took the vessel containing chemicals out of the building. Gas monitors were used to check that the scene was safe.”

Symptoms of chlorine poisoning include a burning pain in the mouth, swelling of the throat, stomach pain, vomiting and difficulty breathing.

Guests were temporarily removed during the incident which began at 8.45pm on Monday.

The scene was made safe by 1.30am on Tuesday morning.

The four-star hotel has “extensive spa facilities”, an award-winning restaurant and tennis courts and is surrounded by “mature woods and an ancient meadowland”. Premier suites there are priced from £205 a night.

George French, the hotel’s manager, said: “We can confirm that a serious incident occurred within the Solent Hotel and Spa.

“The incident, which took place within the spa and fitness areas, was brought to our attention on Monday evening and the emergency services were contacted.

“We evacuated all guests from the hotel on the instruction of the fire service and have been co-operating with them throughout the night and continue to do so.

“Unfortunately, some of our guests who had been using the spa facilities yesterday evening were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.

“Our main priority is our guests’ and team members’ health and wellbeing and we will share further information as soon as it becomes available.

“This incident is under investigation so we are unable to release specific details but Solent Hotel is currently open and the spa and fitness facilities reopened as normal at 8am on Tuesday.”

Chemicals, such as chlorine and bromine, are added to pools and hot tubs to protect swimmers from the spread of germs and prevent outbreaks of disease.

Other pool chemicals help with the disinfection process, improve water quality, stop corrosion and scaling of equipment and protect against algal growth.

However, pool chemicals can injure people if mixed or when appropriate personal protective equipment is not used when handling them.

Authorities recommend that all pool chemicals are stored separately in dedicated locations and that incompatible chemicals are always kept away from each other.

They also say that hotels and spas should separate their air handling systems for chemical storage areas, pump rooms and venue areas from the rest of the building.