Amman: The Jordanian government claims that normalcy was restored in Aqaba after the leak of chlorine gas and explosion in the port on June 27, 2022, that killed 13 and caused over 300 injuries. The leak was after a storage tank carrying chlorine was dropped by a crane on a ship deck in the port. Quoting Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh, who toured the site of the incident, Jordan News Agency, Petra, said today that the leak was now completely contained.
Al-Khasawneh said that the port was operating normally and there was no risk from chlorine gas, which leaked on Monday when a cable carrying a tank of liquefied chlorine onto a ship broke, dropping the tank.
“Life in Aqaba is completely safe. The authorities have confirmed that there are no gas concentrations in the air. We are standing here at the scene of the accident this morning without any safety precautions or even masks,” Khasawneh said.
The Minister of Interior Mazen Faraya, who is leading an investigation, declared that work had resumed at the Aqaba Port, with the exception of berth no. 4, which remains inoperational because of safety concerns.
Minister of Environment Muawiya Radaydah said that air and water in Aqaba were now free of chlorine gas and that tests of air quality in various areas of the city showed there were no environmental hazards expected because of the chlorine leak.
The government claimed that the quayside and the grain silos area, as well as seawater, were “natural and safe”.
“The preliminary examinations of the Aqaba grain silos proved that they were not affected by the toxic gas leak incident,” Minister of State for Media Affairs Faisal Al-Shboul said that was quoted by AmmanNet as saying that “the silos are far from where the accident happened”.
Meanwhile the United States of America today extended its “deepest” condolences to the families of the victims impacted by yesterday’s chlorine gas leak at the Port of Aqaba. “We stand with the Jordanian people in this moment of loss and stand ready to assist our Jordanian partners as they respond to this tragedy,” Ned Price, State Department Spokesman, said in Washington.
– global bihari bureau
