KUALA LUMPUR: An private school in Subang has temporarily closed its campus, in response to an ammonia leakage incident reported at nearby Ara Damansara industrial area last night.
Asia Pacific Schools' executive principal Rob Reed has issued a statement regarding the situation, as students and faculty grapple with safety concerns in the area.
"We were notified by the Department for Environment (DoE) that there has been an ammonia leak at a site in Ara Damansara (approximately 4km away from our campus by car).
"In view of this and the safety of our community, we have closed the whole campus for the day as advised by the DoE.
"We will continue to monitor the situation and provide the learning support to our students, as necessary," said Rob.
Prior to the school's closure, Rob said the school had also sent a note to the parents as a precautionary measure and advised them to make arrangements for the pickup of their children.
He assured them that the school would maintain communication with the relevant authorities and provide updates as necessary.
The incident, which unfolded late last night, saw the Hazardous Material (Hazmat) Team, police, Fire and Rescue Department, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) environmental department and Emergency Rescue Team (ERT) deployed to the site at 4.30am.
Preliminary readings of ammonia gas levels at 7am were recorded at 2100 parts per million (ppm), a significantly high concentration. In light of this, the police have has placed Taman Perindustrian Jaya under lockdown until further notice.
The Hazmat team meanwhile has begun the process of releasing ammonia gas into the air in stages, with the objective of emptying the leaked tank. Unfortunately, at this point, the timeline for the resolution of the situation remains uncertain.
The Fire and Rescue Department was working on determining this and would provide updates as soon as possible.
