34 hit by suspected chlorine gas leak

At least 34 people were affected after they inhaled an unknown gas‚ suspected to be chlorine‚ in Green Point on Friday.

City of Cape Town officials said the parks department building on the corner of Fritz Sonnenberg and Beach roads was evacuated by hazmat teams.

At about 9am‚ people reported the smell of chlorine in the area‚ and a short while later paramedics attended to at least 20 people.

Five people were reported to be in “code yellow” status‚ meaning their breathing was impaired but they were not critically ill.

Chlorine is a toxic gas that attacks the respiratory system‚ eyes‚ and skin. Because it is denser than air‚ it tends to accumulate at the bottom of poorly ventilated spaces.

It is commonly used for industrial purposes like cleaning materials and for the production of petrochemicals‚ but it has also been used as a chemical weapon as recently as 2014 in Syria.