At least 60 tourists are rushed to hospital with gas poisoning after Spanish hotel pool pump breaks

At least 60 holidaymakers at a Costa del Sol hotel were taken to hospital with toxic gas poisoning after a pump problem at their swimming pool.

Other tourists received medical attention at the unnamed hotel in Benahavis near Marbella following the drama.

An investigation into the scare was ongoing today.

A regional government official told local press it appeared the circuit breaker on the pressure pump that injects chlorine and acid into the pool tripped and the system failed.

He said the chlorine and PH systems stopped working as a result of the fault while other gases continued to be released.

Children and elderly people, including holidaymakers from the UK, were taken to Marbella's Costa del Sol Hospital according to Malaga-based paper Sur.

The pool was subsequently sealed off and closed 'for maintenance reasons.'

It was closed yesterday but it was not immediately clear this morning if it would reopen today.

Staff from a public health and clinical laboratory based in the Malaga TechPark, around 45 minutes from Marbella, were seen carrying out tests.

As well as swimming pool and drinking water analysis, the firm also specialises in testing foods for E.coli and Salmonella.

A major chlorine leak at a hotel in Majorca in July 2022 left more than 20 people including children poisoned. The drama occurred at the Sea Club Hotel in the resort of Alcudia.

A number of holidaymakers are said to have suffered symptoms including vomiting, skin irritation, and itching.

Health workers administered oxygen to some of those affected in the hotel's garden area.

Pool-related poisonings occur when chlorine concentrations and the pH are not kept at the proper levels.

That leads to the formation of toxic substances that cause eye irritation, respiratory problems and gastrointestinal disorders.