A dad said he was "terrified" and felt like staff "did not care" after a chemical leak at an upmarket gym and spa.
On Thursday 1 September police, fire crews, and paramedics attended the Athelis Club and Spa in Warrington and two people were hospitalised. One man who did not wish to be identified said no health and safety measures were in place and it took staff "ten minutes" to ring an ambulance for a woman who had collapsed on the floor.
The man was upstairs in the infinity pool when he was hit with a "wave of what smelt like raw bleach" that started to "choke" him.
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Speaking to the ECHO the dad-of-three said: "There was a woman downstairs who took the brunt of the leak and she collapsed. That was when things got really scary.
"My concern was the negligence, it was unbelievable, there was no one there who was first aid trained, even though they have four different pools I did not see one lifeguard and it took ten minutes until an ambulance was called.
"It was unbelievable from start to finish, no one at any point came over to ask if we were okay, even though we were saying our chests hurt. If anything management were snotty to us and they just told us to leave if we felt bad."
Upon arrival, crews assisted staff in the evacuation of gym members and eleven people reported symptoms and were dealt with by paramedics. Two people were taken to the hospital and treated for their injuries.
In a document seen by the ECHO, the chemicals that patients were treated for coming into contact with were sulphuric acid, sodium bisulfate, and sodium hypobromite. With patients citing a wheezy cough, confusion, and headaches as symptoms.
The man, who is from Warrington, said: "The facilities are great but I have never once seen a lifeguard here and the way they were trying to get rid of us, it just felt like they were trying to cover everything up.
"It was terrifying, we were trying to keep it as light-hearted as possible but once that girl hit the deck and we all started thinking if we would be next. The smell burnt your lungs and they had no clue what it was."
A spokesperson from Cheshire Fire and Rescue said: "Our crews attended the incident and ensured everyone was evacuated, entering the building in gastight suits to do a thorough search for anyone who might have still been inside. They ventilated the building and were happy that there was nothing remaining in there that could affect anyone returning to the building.
"They liaised with the club’s engineers regarding the incident and it was found to have been caused by pool treatments."
Athelis Club and Spa have been approached for a comment.
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