Aqaba, Jordan – The leak of poisonous chlorine gas on the dockside of the Jordanian port city of Aqaba on the Red Sea resulted in the deaths of thirteen individuals, including at least four Asian migrants, according to the authorities.
According to the most recent information, the accident on Monday injured more than 250 persons, of whom around 100 were hospitalized as of the most recent report.
The bulk of them were is seeking treatment for the effects of breathing in chlorine gas, which is a common cleaning agent that also has a number of other industrial functions and may be employed as an agent in chemical warfare. All of the injured are suffering from similar symptoms, said Dr. Rouba Aaamawi, who works at the Islamic Hospital in
Aqaba, which is now treating 70 persons, some of whom are on respirators. These symptoms include shortness of breath, a terrible cough, and disorientation.
One of the people who was harmed was Assadallah al-Jazi, who is 25 years old and works for a fertilizer firm. We were unable to hear any kind of explosion. We is immediately smelled something foul, saw the yellow smoke, and then there were people coughing he claimed. We simply saw the yellow smoke.
According to the Interior Minister General Mazen al-Faraya, the port started its return to regular operations on Tuesday, and all of docks were scheduled to reopen with the exception of Dock Four, where further safety inspections were to be carried out.
After making a late-night visit to the port on Monday, Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh said that “the situation in Aqaba is now under control.” When a rope on a crane that was loading a tank of liquefied gas onto a ship split, it caused the tank to fall to the ground on the dockside, allowing chlorine to leak into the environment.
The impact of the descent was sufficient to cause the pressurized container to burst, which led to a vivid yellow gas surrounding the ship Forest 6. This was captured on the closed circuit television as it was leaving the harbor.
The white tank, which had been perforated and stained yellow from where the gas had spilled out, had tumbled to the pier and come to rest directly beside the Forest 6 vessel when it eventually came to rest. When it finally came to rest, the white tank had been perforated and discolored yellow. Ship-tracking websites report that the deck freight ship was just recently built in this year and that it wears the flag of Hong Kong when it is out at sea. On
Tuesday, personnel of the civil defense forces could be seen wearing hazmat suits as they conducted an investigation of the location of the leak.
Imad Tarawneh, the director of the grain silos at the port, said that they would remain closed for the next two days while health inspectors inspected the stockpiles to ensure that they had not been polluted in any way. Since there were no longer any grain boats moored at the port, he said that there would be no impact whatsoever on the volume of trade there.
According to what he said, “every precaution that can potentially be done is being taken, and all loading and unloading operations have been stopped.” The silos are composed of concrete and are hermetically sealed.
According to Khaled Maayta, the chairman of the Aqaba Company for Ports Operation and Management, the grain silos were situated about 600 meters (yards) away from the site where the spill took place on Monday.
According to Jamal Obeidat, the director of health services in Aqaba, hospitals situated surrounding the city are at capacity and “cannot accommodate any additional patients.” After that, he went on to add that the people who had been injured were in a critical to severe situation.
As medical facilities in Jordan struggle to treat the large number of casualties, the primary hospital in the Saudi Arabian town of Haql, which is located on the border with Jordan, has been placed on high alert in order to assist in the treatment of those who have been injured as a result of the conflict.
According to Amer al-Sartawy, a spokeswoman for the civil defense, more than 2,700 security and emergency workers were sent to the location. Of those 2,700 personnel, around 45 of them ended up being among the injured.
The adjacent south beach in Aqaba, which is quite popular with visitors, as well as the residential neighborhoods that are next to the beach, were both evacuated after the disaster that occurred on Monday; however, homeowners were subsequently informed that they may return to their homes after the evacuations were lifted.
According to Nidal al-Majali, an official with the Aqaba Tourist Department, there was no wind on Monday, which assisted to prevent the gas cloud from traveling outside of the port. This was one of the factors that contributed to the incident.
The bulk of Jordan’s imports and exports pass via the port of Aqaba, which is the only maritime gateway Jordan has access to. Aqaba also acts as a transit point for international travelers.
It is situated on a narrow stretch of beachfront along the Red Sea between the borders of Israel and Saudi Arabia, and it is only about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) away from the Israeli port city of Eilat, which is a popular seaside holiday destination.
Because the primary winds were blowing in the other way, a representative for Israel’s Environmental Protection Agency said that there was no threat to the inhabitants’ health in Eilat. This was due to the fact that the predominant winds were blowing in the opposite direction.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense has released a statement expressing their sympathies and offering their support after the tragedy. Chlorine is most well-known for its role in the manufacturing of chemical weapons, despite the fact that it has a wide variety of applications in industry.
