AMMAN, Jun 28 (NNN-PETRA) – Twelve people were killed and 251 others injured, yesterday, in a chemical gas leak from a container, at Jordan’s Aqaba port, Jordan state TV reported.
Jordan opened a large field hospital in Aqaba, to treat those injured in the toxic gas leakage, as the Red Sea port city’s hospitals have reached full capacity, according to the state-run Al Mamlaka TV.
Director of Aqaba Health Department, Jamal Obeidat, said, those injured are in moderate to serious medical conditions, according to Al Mamlaka TV.
He warned Aqaba residents to remain at home, saying that, the danger of the toxic gas leakage is still there.
Kamal Kreisha, a receptionist at the Prince Hashem bin Abdullah Military Hospital in Aqaba, said, all staff in the hospital were working hard to handle the flow of the injured.
“All Aqaba hospitals are full… we have enough medical equipment and oxygen supply at the hospitals, but there is panic and the relatives of the injured are flocking to hospitals,” he said.
Samer Zbeideh, a resident of Aqaba, who works as a teacher, said that, the situation is scary.
“I am staying home with my wife and two daughters. We closed the windows and the doors as we watch the news… we hope this will be solved very soon. It is a tragic incident,” he said.
Jordan’s Prime Minister, Bisher Khasawneh, arrived in Aqaba last night, to follow up firsthand on the efforts to deal with the repercussions of the explosion of a gas tank.
Khasawneh expressed his deepest condolences and sympathy to the victims’ families and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.
Khasawneh directed the Interior Minister, Mazen Faraya, to lead a team to investigate the incident, according to a statement by the Prime Ministry.– NNN-PETRA
