12 dead, 260 injured in Aqaba crane failure which resulted in gas leakage

An explosion caused by a crane malfunction in the Aqaba Port on Monday led to the deaths of 12 people and the injuries of 260 others, including 123 who are currently in hospitals, according to the National Center for Security and Crisis Management (NCSCM) in Jordan. The unfortunate incident is one of the deadliest accidents to strike Jordan in the last few years. The accident happened when the crane tried to place the gas tank on a ship; however, it failed to move the tank all the way and dropped it halfway, causing a major explosion and a leak of poisonous gas. Authorities are doing everything they can to care for the sick and affected.

The explosion of poisonous chlorine gas occurred at Aqaba, Jordan’s only port, after the crane malfunction, a senior health official said. “We advise citizens in Aqaba to stay indoors and close the windows. This gas is deadly,” Jamal Obeidat, head of Aqaba Health Department, told state television. Mr Obeidat said there could be more deaths linked to the disaster. This is the second disaster in Jordan in recent years. In 2018, a flash flood near the Dead Sea killed 21 people, mostly students on a school bus.