07 Jan 2013
Fire crews were forced to evacuate guests at the luxury Sandbanks Hotel after a suspected leak of chlorine gas and liquid on Friday morning.
The emergency services were contacted at 10.50am to attend a “chemical incident” at the four-star hotel on Banks Road in Poole, Dorset.
Paramedics are said to have treated one casualty at the scene and some 20 Poole and Westbourne firefighters dealt with the leak. Dorset Fire and Rescue station manager Louis Minchella, also a hazardous materials officer, said a 60-metre cordon had been placed around the hotel and all guests were accounted for.
He said the beach and roads around the hotel had been closed off and his officers, some in gas-tight suits, were dealing with a “potentially harmful” leak.
The 108-room hotel at the exclusive Sandbanks location overlooks and has direct access to the seven-mile Blue Flag beach and also boasts views of Brownsea Island and Purbecks.
Copyright Press Association 2013