A five-year-old boy has been left fighting for his life after he was poisoned by chlorine while swimming in a public pool.

The boy was swimming at a sports club in Mentana in Rome’s northeast when he suffered “intense burning in the eyes and throat” as well as shortness of breath and coughing, according to The Sun.

Reports say up to 20 people were in the pool when it is believed a leak caused concentrated chlorine to permeate into the air.

Eleven children were in the pool at the time, including the five-year-old boy who was rushed to the Sant’Andrea Hospital where it is believed he is now fighting for his life.

Fifty people were evacuated from the sports club, which was immediately closed.

Police and firefighters were reported on the scene.

The incident comes just days after an 11-year-old girl was killed after her hair was caught in a pool drain in Sestri Levante in Italy’s north.

The girl, known only by her first name Alice, was trapped underwater as bystanders desperately tried to free her and administer CPR, according to The Sun.

She was helicoptered to a hospital in Genoa and placed in an intensive care unit, but tragically passed away — the fifth child to die in Italian pools in the last three months.

“Strict discipline is needed, but also greater caution is needed in never leaving children alone in the water.,” Italy’s Minister for Civil Protection Nello Mesumeci said.