JITRA, April 12 (Bernama) — A total of 61 Sekolah Menengah Agama (SMA) Nurul Islam students from Ayer Hitam near here were being treated at hospitals and clinics after inhaling sulphuric acid vapours after a spill occurred in an incident this morning.
Kubang Pasu district police chief Supt Rodzi Abu Hassan said the spill occurred around 10.30 am when three workers from a contractor company were moving and transferring barrels of expired sulphuric acid.
“Following the spill, the wind had spread the vapours into a classroom where the students were studying.
“A total of 61 students, 14 to 17, were sent to Jitra Hospital, Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Alor Setar and Ayer Hitam Clinic for treatment. They are all under observation and have received outpatient treatment,” he told reporters here today.
The swift action taken by school authorities, the Fire and Rescue Department as well as Health Ministry officials managed to control the situation.
Rodzi said most of the students experienced nausea and headaches, but all the nine boys and 52 girls were in stable condition.
Meanwhile, Kedah Fire and Rescue Department director Asst Senior Fire Commissioner Sayani Saidon said they received a distress call at 12.20 pm about the spill and a team from Jitra Fire and Rescue station was dispatched to the location of the incident.
He added that the team had finished cleaning the chemical spill and ventilation work by 2.45 pm.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency