A Dozen Children Hospitalized After Swimming At YMCA Pool

Swimming pool

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Twelve children were hospitalized after jumping into the pool during a birthday party at the Flowood YMCA in Mississippi. The Flowood Police Department received a call that the children were coughing and having difficulty breathing.

The children, who were in second, third, and fourth grade, were rushed to the hospital and are in "relatively stable" condition.

Officials at the YMCA said that the chlorine levels in the pool were balanced and had been checked before the party.

"It seems like they inhaled chlorine gas, but we are not sure why or how. At 35 years of being at a pool, I've never seen or heard of anything like that happen," interim Metropolitan YMCA CEO Jeff Collens told WAPT.

Flowood police chief Rickey McMillian said an investigation revealed that one of the pumps was busted, causing chlorine fumes to build up, which is what made the children sick.

"From what I'm told, it was a pump issue that after the chlorine was poured into the pool, the pump wasn't circulating it, and they realized it right before the party, which caused extra fumes," McMillian told WLBT.


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