Pool collapse damages Mitchell mall

MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) - Officials say no one was hurt when an aboveground pool used by the aquatics club in Mitchell collapsed on Sunday, sending 85,000 gallons of water onto Main Street and into a strip mall.

Mall owner Jim Beekler said a tanning shop was expected to remain closed until Thursday and a scrapbooking store until next week. A damage estimate was not immediately available.

The Mitchell Aquatic Club used to be based at the pool at the local middle school, but that pool was closed and filled with cement last year as a cost-cutting move. The club set up the aboveground pool in a building on Main Street.

Club head coach Chuck Baechler says the club has contacted its insurance agent and will be contacting the pool manufacturer to get help in determining what went wrong. He says the situation is "our worst nightmare."

Tags: south dakota, strange, pool