61 in hospital from two Johor schools over suspected fume inhalation

Sahruddin Jamal

JOHOR BAHRU, March 11 (Bernama) -- Sixty-one people, 57 of whom are students, were admitted to the emergency unit of the Sultan Ismail Hospital today after experiencing breathing difficulty, nausea and vomiting at two Pasir Gudang schools that were ordered to close again today after reopening since their closure last Thursday over a similar problem.

The 57 students of Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Pasir Putih and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pasir Putih, located near Sungai Kim Kim where dumped chemical waste had given off methane fumes, and four adults, one of whom is a teacher, were sent to the hospital.

Johor Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee chairman Dr Sahruddin Jamal said in a statement that nine people were treated in the red zone, 25 in the yellow zone and 27 in the green zone of the hospital.

Last Thursday, the two schools were ordered to close when many students experienced breathing difficulty, nausea and vomiting and some even fainted after inadvertently inhaling the fumes emanating from the river.

The schools reopened today and, five hours later, a similar situation occurred.

The authorities are trying to ascertain the cause of today’s incident.

-- BERNAMA