28 children and 13 adults were rescued in Milan

First cough in children, persistent and widespread. Then discharge. In total, 28 children and 13 adults from a kindergarten in Milan were drunk from the Jacaranda swimming pool on Tuesday morning, via Procaccini 69 (Corso Sempione area). Among them, 11 people (including five children) were taken to hospital for inhaling chlorine vapor mixture inside the structure during an educational activity connected to a nursery school.

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It happened after 11 o’clock, at the end of a one-of-a-kind performance by the children of Geocomotiva School via Sardegna. Teachers and instructors were in the water with small children, as were their parents who watched from the window. Firefighters immediately arrived at the scene. Especially the personnel of the Nbcr (Nuclear – Biological – Chemical – Radiological) Division of the Milan Command. Firefighters cleared the building. According to the information provided by the rescue team, it seems that intoxication was caused by chlorine fumes. More specifically, there appears to have been an accidental spill of a disinfectant agent, which appears to have escaped from the structure’s ventilation duct.

Drunken children in a swimming pool in Milan

The 28 children, aged between 3 and 5, showed burning eyes, coughing and nausea, and were moved to a triage area set up by the Red Cross and firefighters at the Maison Breton bar outside the swimming pool. Adults in the facility were also evacuated. A total of 12 ambulances and medical vehicles from the Regional Emergency Agency (Areu), including medical vehicles and ambulances, arrived at the site.

Five little students were taken under code green to the emergency rooms of the Buzzi, Fatebenefratelli and De Marchi hospitals. However, two adults came to Fatbenefratelli in green, and four others came to the emergency room in green code for checks. Among them was a swimming pool instructor who remained inside the structure until the evacuation was completed to coordinate the intervention.

23 children who were not taken to hospital were handed over to their parents. For now their conditions are not of particular concern and they should contact Niquarta Poison Control Center if any problems occur. A similar event occurred in February 2022 in the swimming pools of the Assago Forum, and in that case also a chlorine leak made the air unbreathable: 40 people were evacuated, 26 of whom showed signs of intoxication.