Stratford: London Aquatics Centre reopens four weeks after major gas leak

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19 April 2022

The London Aquatic Centre has reopened four weeks after a large quantity of chlorine gas was released sparking a mass evacuation.

Around 200 swimmers and staff members at the Olympic pool were evacuated from the facility with 29 people treated in hospital for breathing difficulties.

But a London Aquatic Centre spokesperson confirmed on Twitter it would be welcoming swimmers back on Tuesday, saying: “We’d like to thank our customers for their patience while we have worked with our partners to reopen the pool.”

The gas release occurred when the facilities management company which operates the plant room took a delivery of pool chemicals.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park incident
A lorry carrying a tank of hydrochloric acid, parked outside the Aquatics Centre
PA

One person was treated on a paramedic’s gurney while multiple swimmers, still in their trunks and goggles, were given foil blankets to keep them warm.

Workers nearby told how they heard a fire alarm going off at around 9.45am on Wednesday with people fleeing the Stratford venue covering their mouths and some suffering coughing fits.

A builder told The Standard he saw a group of children emerge from the Olympic swimming pool and around eight elderly people being covered in foil blankets by paramedics.

Newham Council said its environmental health officers were investigating the leak.

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