On Thursday, August 6, around 5:00 PM at the AVA Thermalpark thermal bath in the village of Diakovce (Šaľa district, Nitra region), visitors began to complain en masse about feeling unwell. Initial reports were alarming — it was said that about a hundred people were affected by an unknown substance. By the evening, 16 people needed medical help, eight of whom were taken by ambulance to hospitals in Galanta, Trnava, Nitra, and Nové Zámky.
The symptoms were similar in all: dizziness, nausea, eye irritation, throat soreness, and cough. The visitors themselves were sure they were poisoned by chlorine — both the smell and the symptoms seemed to match. But firefighters from Nitra and Šaľa, who arrived at the scene, measured and found no chlorine concentration above the limit in the air. What exactly caused the poisoning is still unknown.
The bath was temporarily closed, and the police started a criminal case under the article všeobecné ohrozenie (general danger creation). Law enforcement assures that there is no danger to the environment; this is a local incident on the aquapark territory.
If you and your family were at the Diakovce thermal bath on Thursday and feel similar symptoms — do not wait for them to pass on their own. Call emergency medical services at 155 or the general emergency number 112.
We will report separately on the investigation progress and the decision about reopening the bath as soon as official data appears.
