At least ten dead and 250 injured in Jordan as tank of TOXIC GAS falls on a ship

A tank containing toxic gas has fallen from a crane onto a ship in the Jordanian port of Aqaba spreading a deadly yellow cloud.

 

At least 10 people are believed to have been killed, and around 250 more injured, after a cylinder being loaded onto a ship fell from a crane and exploded. The incident occurred today, Monday, June 27, in the port of Aqaba in Jordan. It was announced by a Public Security Directorate’s spokesperson.

Video footage uploaded onto social media captured the moment the tank came free of the crane, plummeting onto the container ship below. It instantly exploded and sent a huge cloud of yellow-coloured deadly toxic gas across the port area. Workers on the dock can be seen hurriedly trying to avoid the fumes as they spread.

According to local officials, the 25-tonne cylinder was being loaded onto the vessel ready for shipping overseas and contained chlorine. The situation is being handled by Civil Defence Department personnel according to the Jordan News Agency, in Petra. A statement from the CDD said that the injured had been transferred to the Princess Salma and Karak hospitals,

The Jordan Times has reported seeing a statement issued by the port authorities in which it was claimed that the 1,500-litre chlorine cylinder fell as the result of a technical malfunction in the tank’s switch. It is unknown how far the toxic cloud could travel, but the nearest residential area is said to be around 15 miles away from the port.

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