Officials: 2 swimmers exposed to toxic gas, hospitalized

WEST OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) — Officials say a woman and 6-year-old girl were taken to a hospital after they were exposed to a toxic gas while swimming at an indoor pool in West Ocean City.

News outlets report that the Worcester County Fire Marshal’s Office said firefighter paramedics responded to the Francis Scott Key Family Resort on Thursday afternoon and found the girl and a 41-year-old woman complaining of severe difficulty breathing. They were flown to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. The fire marshal’s office says during routine maintenance, muriatic acid and chlorine were accidentally released, forming a toxic gas that was discharged into the pool where the woman and child were swimming.

The pool was closed indefinitely.

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