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

He said the Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS) had taken samples of the chemical waste 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," Amirudin said in a statement issued in Shah Alam 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 Hashim Osman said they received information on the dumping of the waste, believed to contain chemical substances, in the Klang River about 6pm.

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

- Bernama