PUTRAJAYA, June 26 — The cause of the latest episode of air pollution in Pasir Gudang, Johor has yet to be identified, with blood and urine samples taken from victims failing to show any connection, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah.

She said the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) officers are currently on the ground to carry out analysis and checks to ascertain the source of the pollution.

“We had discussed the matter in the Cabinet meeting earlier and we were told that the samples taken from the students had shown no connection.

“A lot of them had vomited and checks made on urine and blood tests had not shown any trace of anything. We cannot connect it yet,” Dr Wan Azizah, who is also the Women, Family, and Community Development minister, said when met with reporters at a ministerial event, here today.

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Yesterday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had vowed that the culprits behind the latest episode in Pasir Gudang, Johor will face the full brunt of the law after dozens, mostly students, fell ill from inhaling the air there.

He said the unfortunate incident should not have taken place after the initial episode at Sungai Kim Kim in March.

A total of 475 schools and educational institutions in Pasir Gudang have been ordered to close for three days, starting from Tuesday until tomorrow.

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Johor Education Department director Azman Adnan had said the number involved 111 government primary and secondary schools, three higher educational institutions, 14 private and international schools and 347 private pre-schools.

Students from various schools in Pasir Gudang had complained of breathing difficulties and vomiting.

In March, more than 4,000 people, mainly children, fell ill after a toxic fume incident in Sungai Kim Kim. The fallout from the incident also saw the temporary closure of 111 schools in the Pasir Gudang district.

However, authorities have been quick to deny that the two incidents were connected.