JASIN, 3 Sept — A total of 120 students from Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Paya Redan were ordered to evacuate the school premises today following an ammonia gas leak at a nearby chicken processing factory late this morning.

Melaka State Education Director Datuk Abu Bakar Sahari said parents of the affected students were told to fetch their children from school after the Fire and Rescue Department notified the school of the incident and ordered an immediate evacuation. The factory is located about 1.5 kilometres from the school.

"At 12.30pm we were informed about the incident near SK Paya Redan. Following this, on the request of the Fire and Rescue Department, parents were asked to take their children home,” he said in a statement here today.

Meanwhile, nine of the factory workers, including six women, were sent to the Jasin hospital for further treatment after suffering from breathing difficulties as a result of inhaling ammonia fumes.

A Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said they received a distress call at 11.42am and a team from the Hazardous Material Unit (Hazmat), including the operation commander, rushed to the scene.

"They are still at the location and are conducting inspections to detect the leak. All of the (factory) workers have been asked to vacate the factory premises as well,” he said. — Bernama