Indiana Water Park Closes After Kids Suffer Chemical Burns From Water
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's almost officially summer, but a Northwest Indiana water park is closed right now after several scary moments.
As CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, at least 5 children suffered chemical burns after getting in the water.
It was a disappointing trip to Seven Peaks Water Park in Porter, Indiana for Mike Miller and his granddaughter, Lilly.
"I was shocked that it's not open," Miller said. However, he found the reason it's closed even more shocking.
According to the Porter County Health Department, several children suffered chemical burns after visiting the park.
"The demand chlorine feeder apparently has been down for a while. What they were trying to do was manually chlorinate the system, and when you do that you have no way of knowing if you're putting into little or too much, and obviously they got way too much," Keith Letta, the department's administrator, told CBS over the phone. "If you put too much in, it gets extremely caustic and will cause chemical burns."
The problem centered around the kiddie pool.
Stacy Bethel's daughter was there Thursday.
"She played in there for awhile, and we started hearing other kids crying and saying that parts of their bodies hurt and there was a mom in the bathroom saying her kid's skin was on fire, so I pulled my daughter out of the water and she started screaming," Bethel said.
Bethel's 2-year-old daughter suffered burns.
One day later, Carey Howard says she took her daughters to the park and that they both suffered burns after being in the kiddie pool.
"It's sickening to me to know that they would do something like that and risk the safety of the children," she said. "It's their responsibility to make sure that those levels are OK and they clearly did not do that."
The Porter County Health Department said the park will remain closed until it can be inspected and found to be in full compliance.
CBS 2 reached the park's general manager by phone Tuesday afternoon, and he says he has no comment. The Park's parent company has not responded to our calls or emails.
