After concluding that thirteen deaths caused by a chlorine gas leak at a significant berth were the result of gross negligence, Jordan fired key officials at the nation’s principal Red Sea port, Aqaba, on Sunday.
A crane lifting chlorine containers onto a ship last Monday dropped one down the dock, causing it to explode, which resulted in the deaths of over 300 people and over 300 injuries.
Following an investigation that revealed ‘negligence and major deficiencies’ in safety protocols, Jordan’s cabinet decided to fire the director general of the government-owned Aqaba Company for Ports Operation & Management as well as other port employees, the prime minister of the country, Bisher al Khasawneh, wrote on Twitter.
Interior Minister Mazin al Farrayeh announced during a press conference on Sunday that the public prosecutor would receive the findings of the inquiry, which was launched soon after the incident and involved more than 120 witnesses’ testimony.
Farrayeh claimed, adding that he anticipated those responsible to face prosecution, ‘the required steps for general safety in handling such dangerous hazardous materials were not taken.’
Prior to this, the port almost completely shut down when thousands of workers chose to stay at home in protest of inadequate workplace safety regulations.
Although there has been a spate of protests after the incident, including sit-ins in front of government buildings, unionists claimed that the most recent cabinet actions only partially addressed their demands.
According to industry experts, the incident almost resulted in disaster had the personnel who were concluding their shifts not quickly evacuated the area. Winds also carried the poisonous gas to the distant desert from the port city’s populous regions.
After at least seven people died last year when oxygen ran out in a public hospital, the leak is the second significant scandal to affect Prime Minister Bisher al Khasawneh’s administration recently.
Long a significant transit point for Iraqi commerce, the Red Sea’s northernmost port of Aqaba has also grown into a gateway for some products headed for Syria and the Palestinian territories.
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