The emergency services in the Spanish holiday hotspot have rushed to the site of the chlorine leak at the Sea Club hotel in the resort of Alcúdia.
Majorca publication Cronica Balear reports that more chlorine than normal may have been added to the pool.
The hotel guests began falling ill at around 12.30pm local time (11.30am BST) in the pool area of the Sea Club Hotel in Puerto de Alcúdia.
According to the local media, bathers complained to lifeguards at the hotel pool not long after noon, who then sounded the alarm and ordered everyone out of the pool. Very quickly, a number of holidaymakers began suffering symptoms including vomiting, skin irritation, and itching.
Early reports claim that the pool ducts which regulate the amount of chlorine became blocked, causing it to burst.
This triggered a large toxic yellow cloud which floated across the pool that at the time was being used for an Aquagym class. Health workers have treated the affected in the garden area of the hotel, administering oxygen. In addition, hotel staff has helped to evacuate the site.
At least 23 people have been affected so far including a “significant” number of children, with local reports claiming that the number of casualties may rise. Diario de Mallorca reports that at least 10 children are being treated for symptoms including eye irritation and coughing.
A dozen have been transferred to various hospitals across Majorca. The Majorca Fire Brigade, Civil Guard, and Alcúdia local police have been scrambled to the scene, with a field hospital set up in the pool area where the leak took place.
So far, the pool remains closed off to guests while emergency crews are in place. The Civil Guard has opened an investigation into the circumstances behind the suspected chlorine leak. Chlorine is usually a gas, but it is usually pumped into pools in either powder or liquid form.
Tags: Majorca, Spain, Spanish holiday
