On Monday, June 27, a toxic gas leak at Aqaba port in Jordan killed at least 12 people and injured around 251 others, as reported by officials and state media.
As shown in a video released by state television on Twitter, a storage container with 25 to 30 tonnes of chlorine gas, while being hoisted onto a ship, fell onto the deck releasing a cloud of thick bright-yellow gas, reportedly due to the crane malfunctioning, causing people to frantically flee the site of the leak.
The storage container was supposed to be exported to Djibouti.
People in Aqaba city’s (approximately 16km north of the port) were instructed to stay indoors with windows and doors closed; Aqaba’s southern beach, 7km away, a popular tourist destination, was evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Grain silos in Aqaba have paused work to investigate the grains for potential contamination. Maritime traffic at ports in Aqaba has continued.
Those injured are being treated for chemical exposure at local hospitals. Chlorine is a commonly used disinfectant and water purification agent, however, exposure to the gas can be lethal–upon inhalation, it turns into hydrochloric acid, leading to internal burning.
The lungs release fluid as a reaction, which can cause a fatal condition known as pulmonary oedema (or ‘wet lung’).
Jordanian health ministry officials reported that most of those injured should be out of the hospital by Tuesday, June 28. According to state TV, the Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh visited a hospital where the injured were being treated.
An investigation team chaired by Interior Minister Mazen Faraya will be investigating the incident upon Al-Khasawneh’s instruction.
(With inputs from Reuters and the BBC.)
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