At least 10 people died and 251 were injured in a chlorine gas leak from a storage tank at Jordan’s Aqaba port, officials and state media reported on Monday, as authorities called on residents to shut windows and stay indoors.
The leak came after a tank filled with 25 tonnes of chlorine gas being exported to Djibouti fell while being transported, officials said.
A video posted on state television’s Twitter page showed a storage tank falling from a winch and slamming onto the cargo deck of brand-new deck cargo ship FOREST 6, followed by yellow-colored gas rising into the air as people ran away.
Chlorine is a widely used disinfectant and water purification agent, but if inhaled, the gas turns to hydrochloric acid, which can lead to internal burning and drowning through a reactionary release of water in the lungs.
Jordan’s Aqaba grain silos halted work, but maritime traffic at Aqaba ports continues, state news agency Petra said, citing the director general of the Jordan Maritime Commission.
“We asked the ships that were near the area of the tank explosion to stay away from the area immediately,” Director General Muhammad Salman said.
Aqaba port at the north end of the Red Sea has long been a major transit route for Iraqi imports and exports.
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