JOHOR BARU: Five students from Sekolah Agama Taman Mawar, Pasir Gudang, here were rushed to the emergency unit of Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) after complaining of breathing difficulties at 4pm today.
Pasir Gudang Fire and Rescue station chief Ibrahim Omar said 15 students showed symptoms including vomiting and breathing problems at 3.39pm and an EMRS with three personnel were dispatched to the school.
He said upon arriving at the location, the personnel checked the situation and immediately sent five students to HSI for further treatment.
“A hazardous material (Hazmat) team and a Johor Baru EMRS unit also went to the location to help the responding team and carried out decontamination process,” he said.
Meanwhile, Johor Health director Dr Selahuddeen Abd Aziz who confirmed the incident said five students were undergoing treatment at HSI.
“At the moment, we are still carrying out checks based on the symptoms to identify the real cause of the problem,” he said, refusing to elaborate.
It was understood that all five students were still receiving treatment at the emergency unit and the medical team was on standby for any eventuality.
In March, 111 schools in the Pasir Gudang district had to be closed for two weeks following chemical pollution of Sungai Kim Kim, which made thousands sick with symptoms ranging from eye irritations, chest pains, vomiting and shortness of breath.
The schools were closed on March 13 after fumes from chemical wastes which were illegally dumped into Sungai Kim Kim caused breathing difficulties for almost 6,000 people in Pasir Gudang.
The schools were reopened following a thorough clean-up operation of the river, when test results showed low levels of pollution.
The dumping of the chemical substances on March 7 caused 5,848 people to seek medical treatment after inhaling toxic fumes wafting from the river.
A used tyre processing factory and two of its directors were charged at the Sessions Court with 15 offences under two environmental regulations.