25 injured in freak chlorine gas leak in a public swimming pool

25 people have been injured after a suspected chlorine gas leak in a swimming pool in Brandenburg, Germany.

At around 2:15 p.m the emergency call came in from the swimming pool in the German town. "The people had complained of respiratory irritation and nausea," Roland Kamenz, spokesman for the Eastern Police Department, told local outlet BZ. According to Kamenz, one of the visitors to the swimming pool was so ill after the leak that she had to be flown to Berlin by rescue helicopter.

A hazardous materials unit is currently investigating exactly which toxic chemicals leaked out into the swimming pool. It is still unclear how many people have had to be taken to hospital.

The swimming pool has now been evacuated and several injured people were treated on site by rescue workers and firefighters.

The shocking event is not dissimilar to when a chlorine gas leak at a swimming pool in Italy left 25 individuals suffering from the poisonous burst of chemicals.

Among those affected were nine nursery school kids, who found themselves embroiled in the chaos during a swimming class at Monti Lessini Sports Centre in Italy.

Rescue teams flocked to the site at the sports venue located in Verona on the afternoon as the hazardous gas spread.

Those impacted by the gas were rushed to nearby facilities, with minibuses transporting the majority and the more severely poisoned making their urgent way to hospitals in Negrar, Borgo Trento and Borgo Roma.

The Italian Ministry of the Interior acknowledged that its Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and Radiological (NBCR) units were promptly dispatched to contend with the aftermath of the toxic gas outbreak.