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TV pictures from the Al-Mamlaka TV station show the moment of the gas explosion
Photo:
- / AFP
A gas leak in Jordan has killed at least ten people and injured more than 200 others.
The government announced that poisonous gas had leaked from a container in the port of Aqaba in the south of the country.
The number of victims was "ten dead and more than 200 injured," said Information Minister Faisal al-Chubul.
A spokesman for the Jordanian security authorities said that a "container filled with poisonous gas overturned during transport" in the port of Aqaba.
This caused a leak.
Video circulated by state media showed a container hanging from a crane falling onto the deck of a ship, causing an explosion of yellow smoke.
people ran away.
Those responsible, who wished to remain anonymous, had previously reported that the container had fallen from a ship.
Residents should stay in their homes
According to information from the Reuters news agency, the substance is said to be chlorine gas.
The southern part of the port was therefore evacuated.
City health officials urged residents to close their windows and stay indoors, state television reported.
The nearest residential area is 25 kilometers away.
Prime Minister Bischer al-Hasawneh and Interior Minister Masen al-Faraja traveled to the scene of the accident, according to the Al-Mamlaka television station.
The port of Aqaba is one of the most important on the Red Sea and Jordan's only seaport.
Most Jordanian imports and exports are handled through him.
ngo/AFP/Reuters