After a chlorine leak at Seven Peaks water park in Provo, the park was evacuated and one child was taken to the hospital.
Provo Fire and Rescue Capt. Dean York said in addition to the child, 11 people reported experiencing symptoms including difficulty breathing. It is unclear how many of those people went to the hospital on their own. (Officials had earlier reported all 12 people went to the hospital.)
The leak was discovered just after 5 p.m Friday. The entire park was evacuated.
The child who was taken to the hospital was 11 or 12 years old, York said, and in stable condition.
Officials said the incident happened because a chlorine sensor was faulty and pumped extra chemicals into the Lazy River.
The park will open as usual Saturday but the Lazy River will remain closed for a few days.
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PROVO, Utah - A waterpark spokesperson says a faulty chlorine jet is to blame for the evacuation at Seven Peaks in Provo Friday, which sent one child to the hospital by ambulance and pushed eleven more to voluntarily check themselves into a nearby hospital.
Seven Peaks Resort said the one of the jets on the Lazy River stopped working. When that happens, they say the jet shoots an extra dose of chlorine into the water out of error.
That extra shot of chlorine caused about a half-dozen people in the water and on inner tubes to start coughing and wheezing, according to Provo Fire Department.
“It was a chlorine gas leak, heavier than air; So, we started evacuating the park just to be safe side,” said Captain Dean York with Provo Fire.
The park was evacuated by 5:30 p.m. and remained closed the rest of Friday. Seven Peaks says it will reopen as scheduled for the weekend; however, the Lazy River will remain closed for at least a couple more days.
"By the time we got there it was roped off," said Bryan Fugal, a Provo father who visited the park with his wife and kids Friday. "So, then went to the wave pool and after about five minutes in the wave pool, they kicked everybody out of there too. I thought some kid had done something or someone had thrown up in the pool, but then they were like, 'Everybody has to get out.'"
Fugal and the rest of the park's customers were kept out of the park for about 45 minutes Friday, before being let back in to grab their belongings.