4 guests fall ill after using swimming pool
Chlorine poisoning suspected; resort in barangay Tisa temporarily closed
A Christmas Day get-together of friends turned tragic for three men and a child after swimming in the pool of a private resort in barangay Tisa, Cebu CIty.
They fell ill immediately after and were brought to the hospital after complaining of persistent vomiting and breathing difficulty, symptoms of chlorine poisoning.
Chlorine is a chemical used as a cleaning agent and disinfectant in water, but an excessive amount will cause poisoning.
Tisa barangay captain Philip Zafra ordered Ring Resthouse owner Helen Tapales to temporarily suspend operations until water samples can be tested by the City Health Department.
The owner also took care of the victims’ hospital bills.
“Three of the victims had it worse because they accidentally drank the pool water. The fourth just inhaled the chemical,” Zafra said in Cebuano.
He said the suspected cause was chlorine poisoning, whose symptoms include stomach pain, vomitting, blood in the stool and difficulty breathing.
The three adult victims, Jo Ann Gonzales, 21; Stephen Loresto, 19; Carl Dhave Fernandez, 18 are from Tisa while 6-year-old Queenne Elesabeth Epe is from barangay Quiot Pardo.
Two were discharged from Cebu Doctors University Hospital (CDUH) later in the evening of Dec. 25.
Two others were scheduled for discharge yesterday.
The four were part of a group of friends who went to the resort in sitio Chicosan Lower Hills in barangay Tisa for night swimming.
Zafra said the four were brought to the Tisa barangay hall about 7 p.m. of Christmas Day seeking assistance. A resort representative accompanied them.
“They could still walk but they complained of difficulty breathing. And they kept vomiting,” he said.
Three ambulances were sent there by the City Command Center since the barangay has only one ambulance.
Zafra said the owner related that that the staff would pour chlorine into the swimming pool to clean the water after they close at 10 p.m.
But she was not certain of the quantity administered the night before on Dec. 24.
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