Heatstroke: Seven of 10 trainees hospitalised already discharged, says Ling

JOHOR BARU: Seven of the ten army trainees who were hospitalised for heat stroke have been discharged, says Johor health and unity exco Ling Tian Soon.

He added that two from the group were still receiving medical care in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Hospital Sultan Ismail here while one had passed away on Oct 14.

"The two who were previously in ICU both have regained consciousness and are seeing improvements in their condition," he told reporters at the Jualan Rahmah programme at HSI on Friday (Oct 20).

Ling was asked to comment on the death of a 24-year-old army trainee, Second Lieutenant Emil Syahid Iskandar, who was believed to have died of heat stroke during a combat training course at the Army Combat Training Centre (Pulada) in Kota Tinggi.

On Oct 16, Bernama reported that the Army Headquarters Public Relations Cell took this incident seriously and would improve the current training system, adding that it was coordinating support and benefits to assist the family of the late trainee.

In a statement, the army reportedly said that ten trainees collapsed in stages at various locations along the Eksesais Wira Lasak route, an 8km speed marching test, at the Lapang Sasar Utara, Pulada on Oct 13.

They were taken to the Kota Tinggi Hospital for initial treatment, and three of them were transferred to the HSI ICU due to unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, Ling believes that the Defence Ministry had its own standard operating procedure and experience in conducting training in different weather conditions.

He added that the Health Ministry was also available to provide additional advice if needed.