Eight people have been taken to hospital after a ‘chemical substance’ was released in a nightclub in Doncaster leaving people ‘struggling to breathe’.
According to Mail Online, Revellers were left gasping for breath in the early hours of Sunday morning after the ‘terrifying’ attack at Pop Works on Silver Street, Doncaster.
Emergency services rushed to the venue at around 5am after dozens of clubbers started feeling unwell with one claiming they had been sprayed with ‘poison gas’.
The woman described how those in the nightclub which is open from midnight until 6am on Fridays and Saturdays began coughing and sneezing and couldn’t breathe properly, forcing a mass evacuation of the venue.
‘Everyone was coughing and sneezing. The security were shouting for everybody to get out,’ the unnamed woman told The Mirror.
‘I have never seen something like this, everyone was just coughing and sneezing and struggling to breathe. There must have been about 50 or 60 people in. It was really creepy, to be honest.’
Another woman posted on Facebook to say that her mother had been at the club on the night in question. She said that someone ‘let some sort of gas off’ and they ended up in the hospital because they were vomiting and coughing from it.
She added that her mother has got a cough and sore throat and has been told to drink plenty by doctors.
Police said that none of those who were hospitalised are thought to have had any lasting effects.
Pop Works Doncaster said on its Facebook page: ‘On the early hours of Sunday morning around 04:55am we had to evacuate everyone out of the club, this was a big eye opener for us as a business and it was handled very well thank you to our door staff and management…
‘We would like to apologise to everyone who was inside at the time and who was involved in the incident. What a world we live in that people would make businesses harder than it is in this trade after Covid.
‘We are deeply sorry. Our main priority is our customers safety and well-being after making sure that the care needed for those involved was provided. Once again we are truly sorry.
‘Thank you to the fire service and the police that came and helped everyone.’
South Yorkshire Police has now launched a probe into the incident and are appealing for anyone with information to get in touch.
A spokesman for the force said: ‘We are carrying out an investigation into reports a chemical substance was let off inside a night-time venue in Doncaster city centre in the early hours of this morning (Sunday 30 July).’
‘We were called at 5am to report a number ofa1 people said to be feeling unwell at Pop Works on Silver Street.
‘Eight people at the venue required hospital treatment but nobody is thought to have had any lasting effects.
‘We are now working to determine what substance was let off at the location.
‘We are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.’
Chief Inspector David Struggles, from the Doncaster district command team, said: ‘For those inside Pop Works this must have been a terrifying ordeal and we are working hard to determine exactly what happened at the location.
‘This type of offence will cause concern among the community and those who like to use the night-time economy in the city.
‘We want to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible to ease those fears and make those who live in or wish to use the city centre for leisure feel safe and secure.
‘If you were inside Pop Works at the time or in the nearby area and saw or heard anything suspicious we want to hear from you. You could have seen something important, no matter how small it seems. It could prove vital for the investigation.’
