Help arrived from all over the province. The boys were treated on site with oxygen therapy. About 40 people were taken to hospital, they are not serious
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This morning in Guastalla, in the province of Reggio Emilia, a cloud of chlorine rose near school swimming pools. There are around a hundred intoxicated people, among them many students – none of them are seriously ill – who were immediately helped by the teams who intervened on site with oxygen therapy. Forty people were taken to hospital, many showing symptoms of coughing and watery eyes. The schools where the toxic cloud spread have meanwhile been evacuated.
What happened
This morning, during a phase of transferring hydrochloric acid into the swimming pools in via Sacco and Vanzetti in Guastalla, a cloud of chlorine was released. In the adjacent bar and canteen, crowded at that time for breakfast, there were many people including many school students who had gathered there before going to class. Many began to show symptoms of coughing and watery eyes, the cloud then moved inside the school.
40 people are in hospital
140 people were rescued, with around forty people treated in hospitals. The firefighters are now checking the gas concentrations in the school to decide whether the conditions are safe for reopening the institution.
Once the alarm was raised, all available teams from all over the province rushed to the scene. Many intoxicated people were treated on site with oxygen therapy, while others were transported to nearby hospitals.
An episode similar to that of the Guastalla swimming pool happened in Milan just a few days ago, when 42 people, including 28 children, were poisoned.
