Shanghai Water Park Suspends Operations After Visitors Fall Sick

This article originally appeared on our sister website, Urban Family Shanghai.

By Urban Family

A total of 37 visitors became sick after visiting Shangyin Water Park, an indoor water park in Shanghai. The venue has temporarily ceased operations, reports Shine.

Shangyin Water Park is located in Jing’an district. On Saturday afternoon, several visitors exhibited symptoms including coughing, dizziness, vomiting and sore throat while playing in the pool.

READ MORE: The Best Water Parks in Shanghai

Image via 菠萝油小丸子/Dianping

“I was sitting on the chair and watching my boy swimming when I suddenly noticed he was coughing,” one of the victims said. “Then I realized nearly all the visitors, adults and kids alike, were coughing and the place was full of the smell of bleaching powder.”

“I couldn’t help coughing and then my cousin showed the same symptom,” one child recalled. “I realized something was wrong and we quickly escaped from the venue.”

A total of 37 visitors, including 19 adults and 18 children, were sent to a nearby hospital to receive immediate treatment. Thankfully, all of them were released from the hospital by the next morning and the medical examination indicated no evidence of a poisonous and hazardous substance.

Image via 宣克炅/WeChat

The water park has suspended operations and promised to compensate the medical bills of the victims. In addition, they have agreed to return the fee of those who previously purchased tickets but have not yet visited.

“There is no poisonous gas or water,” claims a spokesperson for the water park. “They may have stayed in the pool for too long and inhaled too much carbon dioxide.”

That being said, some netizens pointed out the symptoms of the visitors don’t correlate with those of carbon dioxide poisoning. 

The incident is still under investigation.

[Cover image via Pexels]

This article was originally published by our sister magazine Urban Family Shanghai. For more articles like this, visit the Urban Family website, or follow the Urban Family WeChat account (ID: urbanfamilyshanghai).