In the afternoon of Monday, June 5, kindergarten students in the middle and large section felt burns on their toes while swimming in the municipal swimming pool in the town of Mailhac. Following this incident, the town hall evacuated the schoolchildren and closed the swimming pool.
Monday, June 5, around forty pupils from the middle and large section of the Jeanne-Bleton nursery school in Ouveillan were brought to the municipal swimming pool in Mailhac as part of the drowning prevention system. “Blue Class”.
During this afternoon, about forty children do exercises along the wall. After a few minutes, fourteen schoolchildren complained of burns on the pulp of their toes. Others experience pain behind their legs.
The mayor of the town, Serge Debled, – in connection with the lifeguards present on the scene – gives the order to evacuate the basins. He also decides to close the pool in order to check the state of the water. “It is regularly monitored by a specialized company and the regulatory analyses, carried out by the lifeguard before the start of the session, were also compliant”, underlines the municipality. Concerned parents have asked for more in-depth analyses.
A film of limestone
Following this incident, the municipality requested the assistance of state services. “From this Tuesday morning, an inspection of the basin was carried out by the departmental service for youth, commitment and sports (SDJESS11).”
According to initial information, after analysis, the blisters on the children’s toes were caused by regular friction on the walls of the swimming pool. The edges would have been covered, in places, with a film of limestone.
By dint of pressing their toes against the walls concerned, the schoolchildren would have suffered these injuries on the lower body already weakened by the time spent in the water. For the State services, it would not be a chemical effect, but a mechanical one. The latter recommend a treatment allowing the removal of this abrasive deposit.
The community is looking for a solution to eliminate the limestone film still present in the basin.