Some 55 students and staff of three schools sought medical treatment after experiencing difficulty in breathing due to a gas leak from a nearby fertiliser plant, officials said today.

"Today is the second day of the mid-year examination. But we had to close the school because conditions were getting serious. More and more pupils and staff were getting ill because they had inhaled the gas," Mohamed Noor Derani, headmaster of o­ne of the affected schools in the northern Kedah state was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

Bernama

said an official from the fertilizer plant expressed regret over the incident and confirmed that the leak involved ammonia gas.

Third leak

"I saw fumes around the class and smelled rotten meat. The stink caught in my throat and I felt dizzy and nauseous," said Maizatul Mazlan, a 11-year-old student.

All the victims, which also included some residents, received medical treatment from nearby hospitals.

Mutalib Badarul Bujan, 63, a local resident said it was the third time a leak had occurred at the plant and urged the operator to be more cautious in their operation. AFP