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Sixteen employees and one guest were transported to the hospital after inhaling a chlorine-type gas accidentally disseminated through the ventilation system at the Portola Plaza Hotel and Spa early Monday.

The hotel and adjoining conference center were evacuated by the Monterey Fire Department and Hazmat was on-site to see that the hotel was clear after employees in the basement laundry facility mixed the wrong cleaning chemicals together, creating a toxic gas that somehow made its way into the ventilation system.

It is widely known that mixing ammonia and bleach together can result in toxic chloramine gas. There is no word at this time whether this was the case in the Portola Plaza evacuation.

The hotel is being monitored by Hazmat and will remain closed until the air quality is deemed safe.