JOHOR BAHRU: At least 20 more pupils suffering toxic fume inhalation symptoms like smarting eyes, breathing difficulty and nausea were brought to Dewan Komuniti Taman Pasir Putih today which has become a makeshift triage centre since Sunday.
Official Information from authorities is still unavailable, and not much is known about the number of pupils being treated or which schools they come from, but Bernama learned the students today were brought in ambulances provided by the Malaysian Civil Defence Force and Fire and Rescue Department around 10.30am from Pasir Gudang schools.
At 11am, Bernama observed anxious parents flooding the hall seeking answers on their children. Patients requiring further attention were taken to Hospital Sultan Ismail.
“I rushed over to the school after receiving a WhatsApp message on my daughter around 10am, but she had already been taken to the hall,” said Aida Abdullah, 40, whose daughter, Nur Alisa Alia Mohd Amir, 14, is a Form 2 student at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Taman Scientex.
“I’ve not seen how she is yet,” said the homemaker whose family smelt the fumes in Taman Scientex yesterday but wasn’t affected by them.
Lega Galang, 58, said he and his wife hurried to the hall after getting a call from the school.
“I’ve not seen her …. I pray she is OK,” he said of Naziralida, 16.
SMK Taman Scientex Form 4 student, Aida Mohd Fazli, 16, said her eyes started smarting in class this morning.
“I’m feeling OK now. The doctor said it was not serious and that I could go home,” she said.
In a statement Tuesday, Johor health, environment and agriculture committee chairman, Dr Sahruddin Jamal said 13 schools in Pasir Gudang were being closed indefinitely.
The state government, via the State Disaster Management Committee, has formed a working committee to get to the bottom of the toxic dumping incident at Sungai Kim Kim which to this point has caused hundreds of people to fall sick since last week. –Bernama
