Aqaba ‘completely safe’, normalcy restored — PM

AMMAN — Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh on Tuesday said that normalcy has been restored in Aqaba and that Monday’s chlorine gas leak incident has been completely contained.

The prime minister declared, while giving a tour of the accident site, that port operations are normal and that there are no risks from chlorine gas concentrations.

The accident happened when a chlorine gas cylinder fell while it was being loaded onto an anchored ship.

Khasawneh said that life in Aqaba is “completely safe”, and all relevant authorities have confirmed that there are no gas concentrations in the air.

“We're standing here at the scene of the accident this morning without any safety precautions or even masks," he added.

The prime minister stated that he has tasked the minister of interior with leading an investigation into the incident, identifying the reasons and the means to prevent the recurrence of any other similar incidents.

During the tour, along with the ministers of interior, health and environment, the premier praised the efforts of all stakeholders, mainly the Public Security Directorate, Civil Defence Department, medical personnel, the Ministry of Environment, and the Royal Scientific Society for dealing with the incident along with the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army.

He also stressed that all efforts exerted since Monday were under the direct follow up and supervision of His Majesty King Abdullah and HRH Crown Prince Hussein who followed up on the details of incident.

Meanwhile, Aqaba Governor Mohammed Rafaiah said that there are no critical cases among the injured in Aqaba hospitals.

Rafaiah said that the number of the injured at hospitals went down to 139, while deaths increased to 13, including five foreign nationals, Petra reported.