Israel Offers Jordan Assistance After Port Blast; 13 Dead

YERUSHALAYIM
Surveillance footage shows a storage tank containing chlorine gas crashing into a ship after falling from a winch, in Aqaba, Jordan, Monday. (Jordan TV/Handout via REUTERS)

Israel is offering Jordan assistance following Monday’s toxic gas blast at the Port of Aqaba. Thirteen people were reported dead.

 “As we’ve told our friends in Jordan, the Israeli defense establishment is ready to assist with any effort, by any means necessary,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement.

The explosion resulted when a cylinder containing gas dropped from a crane.

Haj Hassan, deputy chief of the Aqaba Region Ports Authority, said that “iron rope carrying a container containing a toxic substance broke, resulting in the fall and escape of the poisonous substance.”

199 people have been hospitalized, bringing the number of injured to 251.

The Port of Aqaba is located on the Red Sea, close to the southern resort city of Eilat.

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