Sixteen employees were sent to the hospital Wednesday morning after a dangerous reaction caused by “improperly mixing pool chemicals” at the grand opening of a Great Wolf Lodge in Texas, authorities said.
Webster city officials said in a statement that a third-party contractor caused the leak in a separate building that is separate from the newly opened hotel and water park.
“Two individuals are having difficulty breathing after inhaling some sort of chemical,” the operator can be heard saying on the 911 call. NBC’s “Today.”
Webster Fire Chief Dean Spencer said the chemicals that were improperly mixed in the tank were identified as sodium hypochlorite and sulfuric acid. Houston Chronicle report.
Taylor Swift terror plot: Suspect who pledged allegiance to ISIS had chemicals, devices in home
Officials said 16 workers near the scene were hospitalized. (FOX26 Houston KHOU)
Officials said five people were evacuated from the building and 16 employees and contractors working in the area were decontaminated and rushed to a nearby hospital.
City officials said a third-party contractor mixed two chemicals inside the isolated building, causing a dangerous chemical reaction. (FOX26 Houston KHOU)
Firefighters isolated the tank and monitored the scene to ensure no dangerous chemicals were found in the hotel or water park.
Officials said no harmful chemicals were found at the hotel or water park. (FOX26 Houston KHOU)
Two killed, two trapped in wreckage after hotel partially collapses on German Moselle river
Great Wolf Lodge is Fox 26 Houston He said the water park will open as scheduled.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“The health and safety of our guests and pack members is always our top priority, and we are extremely grateful for the swift action of City of Webster emergency personnel in response to the incident caused by an outside contractor at our main indoor waterpark and resort exterior building,” the statement said. “We have received clearance from the Webster Fire Department to open the resort and all waterpark attractions as scheduled.”
