Chemical leak at Kuala Lumpur airport, sick 39

Last Updated on July 6, 2024 9:49 am

At least 39 people have been sickened by a chemical leak in an engineering wing of Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

An official of the country’s emergency services said that there was a chemical leakage incident at one of the capital’s busiest airports on Thursday (July 4).

In a statement, local rescue officer Muhammad Noor Khairy Samsumin said that 24 of the total sick people have been released after providing first aid. 14 sick persons have been treated at the air disaster unit and one has been shifted to a government hospital.

He said that these 39 people started to feel dizzy after being exposed to the chemical. Although they work in that section, they are basically employees of three different companies.

Meanwhile, the incident did not disrupt air traffic at the country’s main airport. Emergency services and health department personnel have been dispatched to the scene. However, the statement did not mention the cause of the chemical leak.

The Selangor state fire department said they received an emergency call about a chemical leak at 11:23 a.m. local time. It was then that their personnel including a hazardous materials team were dispatched to the scene.

The chemical in the leak was later identified as methyl mercaptan, a colorless flammable gas. It is sometimes used in the production of jet fuel.

Source: The Straits Times