AMMAN: At least 11 people have died and more than 250 were being treated in hospital after a toxic gas leak from a storage tank in Jordan’s Aqaba port, according to government spokesman Faisal Al-Shaboul.
Specialized teams were dealing with the leak after a tank filled with toxic gas fell during its transportation, leading to a leak at the site, Petra said, citing the spokesperson of the Public Security Directorate.
Video carried by state-run media showed a crane hoisting a large tanker from a truck and then dropping it on the deck of a ship, causing an explosion of yellow smoke and sending dock workers racing away.
The area was immediately evacuated, according to Aqaba Governor Mohammad Al-Radayaa, who said the situation “had been controlled.”
Local authorities also called on Aqaba citizens to close and seal doors and windows and to avoid going out.
The Director of Aqaba Health Department, Dr. Jamal Obeidat, announced the city’s hospitals are full after they reached the maximum capacity in addition to opening a field hospital to receive injuries.
Obeidat added that cases of gas suffocation are referred to health centers, noting that the health condition of the injured is between medium and critical.
Chest diseases consultant, Dr. Mhammed Al-Tarawneh, said the gas leaked from the tank, believed to be chlorine, is a very toxic substance, which may significantly affect the surrounding areas.
Al-Tarawneh added that contact with this gas leads to irritation of the mucous membranes and the occurrence of a red rash in the flesh, in addition to pneumonia, pointing out that the gas entering the mouth also leads to burning in the esophagus and the occurrence of cases of diarrhea, headaches, impairment, and loss of consciousness.
The Minister of State for Information Affairs, Al-Shaboul, said that Prime Minister Dr. Bishr Al-Khasawneh instructed the formation of an investigation team, headed by the interior minister, into the accident and explosion.
The US ambassador to Jordan, Henry T. Wooster, expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and those affected by the accident.
“Along with the entire staff of the US Embassy in Amman, I extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the explosion in Aqaba,” he said.
“We stand ready to support the government of Jordan as it responds to this tragedy, I urge all US citizens in Aqaba to follow all public health guidance,” he added.
The Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajjraf, also expressed his sincere condolences to Jordan, the king, government, its people and the victims.
Al-Hajraf affirmed that the GCC stands with the government and the Jordanian people, in these difficult moments, extending his condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims, asking “God Almighty to bless them with his mercy, to grant the injured a speedy recovery, and to protect Jordan and its people from all evil and calamities under the leadership of King Abdullah II.”