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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Wembley: Nine children in hospital after 'chlorine leak' at swimming pool

Nine children and two adults are in hospital after a suspected chemical leak at a swimming pool in Wembley, north-west London.

Police, paramedics and the fire service were called to Vale Farm Sports Centre on Watford Road shortly after 1.30pm on Thursday, to reports of a chlorine leak.

The leisure centre has been evacuated, said the Met police, and road closures are in place.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We sent a number of resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, incident response officers and members of our hazardous area response team.

“We treated nine children and two adults at the scene before taking them all to hospital.”

Emergency services remain at the scene.

Chris Williams, area contract manager for Everyone Active, said: “The centre was evacuated at 1.40pm today after excess chlorine was released into the pool.

“Some customers were taken to hospital as a precaution, and no colleagues were injured. The incident was isolated to the pool area, but we closed the whole building as a precautionary measure.

“Safety is our top priority and we are taking this incident very seriously. We are conducting a full investigation into the cause and will implement necessary measures to prevent similar occurrences in future.

“The centre reopened at 4pm today and we plan to reopen the pool at 6.30am tomorrow (Friday), after thorough safety checks. We sincerely apologise to all affected customers and will provide an update as soon as we can.”

Councillor Neil Nerva, Cabinet Member for Community Health & Wellbeing at Brent Council, said: “We are aware of reports of a chlorine leak at Vale Farm Sports Centre and that nine children and two adults have been taken to hospital.

“Everyone Active manages Vale Farm Sports Centre and we are seeking reassurance from them. We are on hand to support in any way we can.”

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