London Olympic pool evacuated after chlorine gas leak, 29 taken to hospital with ‘breathing difficulties’ – ESPN

A swimming pool at the London sports complex that hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics was evacuated on Wednesday, with 29 people taken to hospital due to breathing difficulties, authorities said.

The London Fire Brigade said around 200 people were evacuated after the chlorine gas was discharged inside the Aquatics Center at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London due to a "chemical reaction."

The brigade said it took 29 people to the hospital and assessed another 48 people at the scene. Most of those affected reported minor breathing difficulties, it said.

The fire service declared a "major incident" and sent a large team of emergency workers including 13 ambulance crews and members of its hazardous area response team. Surrounding roads were cordoned off and members of the public were denied access to the park.

Local residents were asked to close their doors and windows while workers ventilated the affected area.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which was built for and hosted the 2012 Olympic Games, first opened to the public in 2014.

The Aquatics Center's management said the chlorine gas release occurred "when the facilities management company that operates the plant room took delivery of pool chemicals."

A statement read: "We sent a significant number of resources including 13 ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, two medics in fast response cars, two incident response officers, a medical incident advisor and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).

"We also dispatched medics from London's Air Ambulance. Our crews took 29 patients to hospital and assessed a further 48 patients at the scene. The majority of patients were reporting minor breathing difficulties.

"Thank you to all our teams who responded today, both at the scene and in our control room, and to our firefighter and police colleagues."

While the chlorine that is added to swimming pools to kill bacteria is safe, chlorine in gas form is highly toxic.

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London Olympic pool evacuated after chlorine gas leak, 29 taken to hospital with 'breathing difficulties' - ESPN