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UAE leaders offer condolences to King of Jordan over victims of Aqaba toxic gas leak

Explosion killed 12 people and injured more than 250 on Monday

Published: Tue 28 Jun 2022, 12:49 PM

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President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a message of condolences to Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein for the victims of the toxic gas leak at the Aqaba port.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, also sent similar message to the King of Jordan.

Gas explosion

A chlorine gas explosion killed 12 people and injured more than 250 on Monday, authorities said, when a tank that fell from a crane released a poisonous yellow cloud at Jordan’s Aqaba port.

Footage on state-owned Al-Mamlaka TV showed the large cylinder, said to have been carrying about 30 tonnes of gas, plunging from a crane on a moored vessel and violently releasing the chlorine gas cloud.

The force of the blast sent a truck rolling down the dock, while port workers ran for their lives.

“At exactly 15:15 this afternoon, a chlorine gas leak occurred in the port of Aqaba as a result of the fall and explosion of a tank containing this substance,” the government’s crisis cell said in a statement.

The death toll rose to 12 with 260 injured, both Jordanians and foreigners, it said, adding that almost half of the injured were being treated in hospitals.

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