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Chlorine gas alarm in Sonthofen: rescue workers quickly deployed!
In Sonthofen there was a chlorine gas incident in the swimming pool and a rehabilitation clinic, and rescue workers were deployed on a large scale.
Chlorine gas alarm in Sonthofen: rescue workers quickly deployed!
In Sonthofen, a serious incident led to a large-scale rescue operation. On August 30, 2025, chlorine gas was produced in the local swimming pool due to incorrectly mixed cleaning chemicals by an employee of a cleaning company. Around 40 rescue workers were mobilized to help quickly. The affected employee was taken to the nearby Immenstadt hospital for treatment of his respiratory tract and for observation. Fortunately, no further injuries were reported and the fire department took repeated measurements, all of which were negative. The Sonthofen volunteer fire department, the Altstädten volunteer fire department and the rescue service were on duty and did everything they could to deal with the situation. All-in reported that...
But that wasn't the only chlorine gas incident in the region. Just a few months earlier, more precisely on October 26, 2023, there was a similar alarm in the Sonthofen rehabilitation clinic. Chlorine gas escaped there during maintenance work in the therapy area. The situation developed quickly and required an extensive alert, which involved several local fire departments, the Technical Relief Agency (THW) and police forces. A rescue helicopter was on standby nearby while over 30 patients were moved to other parts of the building. 22 hospital employees had to be treated on site for respiratory irritation; three of them were transported to other hospitals but showed only mild symptoms. The fire department was able to contain the spread of the gas through ventilation measures and barriers. Merkur informs that...
Dangers of chlorine gas
Chlorine gas, a greenish-yellow, pungent-smelling respiratory poison, is supplied in gas containers and is primarily known from swimming pools, where it is used for disinfection. It reacts with water and forms hydrochloric acid, which is not only corrosive but also poses health risks. In the event of a leak, chlorine gas rooms are equipped with special warning systems that provide acoustic and visual signals. In the event of an alarm, these signals must be forwarded to a permanently manned location. The German Statutory Accident Insurance (DGUV) recommends drawing up comprehensive safety and evacuation plans for chlorine gas plants in order to be able to act quickly in the event of an incident. BGETEM declares that ...
The recent incidents in Sonthofen should serve as a wake-up call to review and continually improve safety precautions in facilities that work with chlorine gas. Ultimately, safety is the top priority when it comes to handling such potentially dangerous substances.