Chlorine gas leak: Six foreign workers rushed to hospital

Tawau Fire and Rescue Station chief Jemishin Ujin said all of them, who are foreign nationals aged between 19 and 43, were sent to Tawau Hospital.

He said the six workers comprised Indonesian national, Jamal Umar, 30, and five Filipino workers, namely Said Bading, 43; Aduk Jak, 28; Shahrul Nizam Raymond, 19; Milham Ibnu Hatta, 35; and Jai Azmi, 19.

One of them is in the red zone at the emergency unit, while the others are in the yellow zone, he said when contacted by reporters today.

He said a fire team was sent to the scene immediately after being informed of the gas leak incident, believed to occur at about 11 am.

The team found that a gas leak had occurred during digging work using an excavator at the site," he added.

Jemishin said civilians living 500 metres from the vicinity were also moved to one kilometre away for safety.

"Firefighters also carried out zoning works using gas detectors to take radiation readings of materials and patching leaks on barrels identified as chlorine using soil and plastic. Decontamination works were carried out before the operation ended at 8.36 pm yesterday," he added.