- Children evacuated in their bathers
- Thick plumes of smoke were coming from the building
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Hundreds of children taking part in a swimming carnival at a major sports and recreation center were forced out of the building after a fire broke out.
Solar panels installed on the roof of the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatics Center in Homebush, in Sydney’s west, are believed to have caught fire around 12:30 p.m.
Children inside the venue attending a swimming carnival at the center were forced to evacuate the building with their swimmers.
Hundreds of children were evacuated from the aquatic center at Sydney Olympic Park on Monday afternoon after the roof of the building caught fire (photo)
Thick plumes of smoke were seen coming from the building as firefighters and emergency services rushed to the scene.
Half a dozen firefighters are currently on scene and three ambulance crews have also been called to the scene.
Some children tried to return to the aquatic center to try to recover their belongings, according to information from the Daily Telegraph.
A NSW Ambulance Service spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia that everyone inside the center had been evacuated.
“Paramedics treated a female patient suffering from a hip injury at the scene,” the spokeswoman said.
The fire broke out from solar panels atop the main sports complex facility (pictured), with hundreds of children attending a swimming carnival inside the center at the time- there.
A NSW Fire and Rescue spokesperson told the Daily Mail that firefighters managed to extinguish the fire once they arrived at the scene.
“The center has been closed until the damage to the building is repaired,” the spokesperson said.
Emergency services took two hours to evacuate everyone from the side of the building and the blaze did not manage to penetrate inside the aquatic center while the swimming carnival was taking place.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted NSW Police for comment.
More soon.
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