Smoke-pall danger over Sarawak

Smoke haze over the state of Sarawak, Borneo, hit record danger levels as firefighters raced to control the forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia which are responsible for the smog.

The national Bernama news agency said that 2,000 fire-fighters from Malaysia, including medical and communication experts, were leaving for Indonesia in stages to help put out the fires. Mohamad Rahmat, the Information Minister, said that evacuation of the 2 million people who live in Sarawak would be a last resort. Reuters