SHAH ALAM (March 15): Works are being carried out to clean up chemical wastes from a retention pond in Eng Ann Park, Klang and the operation is expected to take two days, said Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.

He said the Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS) had taken samples of the chemical wastes for further investigation.

"I understand that LUAS had initiated the containment and mitigation process at 8pm yesterday and the clean-up operation commenced this morning," he said in a statement here today.

He said the Selangor State Disaster Management Unit had been instructed to monitor the situation and to cooperate with LUAS, the Klang Municipal Council and the Selangor Department of Environment to resolve the case.

Yesterday, LUAS director Datuk Hashim Osman said they received information on the dumping of the wastes, believed to contain chemical substances, in the Klang River at about 6pm.

Based on information obtained, the chemical substances said to have been disposed into a drain had started to flow into the Klang River but quick action was taken to prevent widespread pollution. — Bernama