11 People Hospitalized After Bleach Spill at Minnesota Pool

Eleven people, including children, were hospitalized Sunday when bleach spilled at a Minnesota swimming school, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

Emergency medical personnel were called to the Foss Swim School in St. Louis Park, Minn., about six miles southwest of Minneapolis, at 3 p.m. when people near the pool became sick and experienced respiratory problems, St. Louis Park spokesman Jamie Zwilling said.

John Foss, CEO of the school, said about two cups of bleach had spilled inside a pump room adjacent to the pool. Chlorine vapor wafted into the pool area when the parent of a student opened a door to the pump room.

Some stores in the mall where the school is located were temporarily evacuated while a chemical assessment team conducted tests. Zwilling said most of the vapor had dissipated by the time the assessment team arrived.

There were 40 to 50 people in the pool area at the time of the spill, with 11 taken to hospital for further treatment after suffering vomiting, coughing and respiratory problems.