Manassas, Virginia - Apparently, last Saturday (June 11), Signal Bay Waterpark in Manassas, Virginia experienced a “chemical spill” of chlorine into one of its pool pumps, which caused six children to be sent to the hospital. Around 1:30 pm, lifeguards noticed a yellow discoloration in the water and immediately evacuated it. The park spoke with patrons and treated them on site until medics could arrive.

One child was experiencing breathing problems while others were getting sick from the excessive chlorine chemicals inhaled. In the end, five were taken to the hospital and a sixth went on their own to be treated. Roughly 30 of the 300 guests at the park were reportedly experiencing symptoms from the chlorine, but did not require treatment at the hospital. No word has yet been given updating any of these six patrons current condition, but it is likely that all have been resolved once the chlorine was out of their systems.

After closing the park for several days to investigate the issue, the park has reported that the incident was caused by a “mechanical failure,” according to manassaspark.patch.com. Jimmy Knapp, the Health Specialist sent in to evaluate the situation, determined that the system which mechanically releases the chlorine allowed excess chlorine to be pumped into the pool.

This is actually the second time in just a matter of days that a water park had a chlorine problem. At Mt. Olympus the week before, three children at the parks Poseidon’s Rage wave pool reported having difficulty breathing. After sending more ambulances to the scene, fifteen people in total were found to be experiencing breathing problems, and eleven had to be transported to nearby hospitals. In this case, after an employee had done regular maintenance, he inadvertently caused excessive amounts of chlorine and sulfuric acid to be released into the pool.

The City of Manassas, which owns the park through its Parks and Recreation Department, made a statement that the chemical handling equipment is being replaced. The park has since reopened this past Sunday, June 19, just a few days later than they hoped, but all problems have been resolved.