Three men died inhaling gas while cleaning sewage plant

Kuala Lumpur: Three men died after inhaling gas while cleaning a sewage plant in Jalan Pantai Permai 1, Pantai Dalam, here, Friday.

The two locals and a Bangladeshi were employees of a cleaning contractor.

The Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (JBPM) operations centre, in a statement, said the incident was reported at 2.41pm on six male cleaning workers having respiratory problems due to inhaling gas in the sewage plant.

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Two of them managed to save themselves before firemen arrived, while the other four victims were still in the plant, according to the statement.

Members of JBPM’s Hazardous Materials Unit (Hazmat) also conducted air reading and ventilation work at the location to ensure the air quality was safe.

“A victim was rescued and sent to hospital,” the statement said.

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The three men who died were taken out of the plant by members of the Water Rescue Team (PPDA), while the Hazmat team carried out decontamination before the  case was handed over to police for further action.

Meanwhile, Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) Sdn Bhd, in a statement, said it would extend full co-operation to the authorities probing the incident.

It said IWK would also conduct an internal investigation to identify the cause of the incident.

“IWK extends its condolences to the families of the victims,” it said.

It said the company expressed regret over the incident because every procedure related to the safety and health of the employees had been followed before carrying out any operational tasks.