5 Vietnamese killed in Jordan gas blast

According to the Vietnamese Embassy in Saudi Arabia concurrently with Jordan, the Vietnamese victims were injured were crew members working on the Forest 6 vessel numbered VRUK3 and registered in Hong Kong.

On Monday, toxic chlorine gas escaped on the dockside in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba, leaving more than 250 people injured, including seven Vietnamese. About 100 injured victims remained in hospital as of Wednesday, AFP quoted local officials as saying.

Most were being treated for the effects of breathing chlorine gas, a common cleaning agent that also has a range of other industrial uses and can be employed as a chemical weapons agent, it said.

Speaking on the phone with the Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, Vietnam’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son asked Jordanian authorities to quickly investigate the cause of the explosion, and have guidance on handling post-mortem procedures for the deceased victims.

He also asked Jordan to support the Vietnamese Embassy in the process of protecting and assisting Vietnamese citizens in need.

Jordanian officials said earlier that the incident at the port of Aqaba occurred when a crane was loading tanks of toxic chlorine gas onto a cargo ship to be transported to Djibouti. A tank containing 25 tons of chlorine fell from the crane and was damaged, causing toxic gas to spread around.

A video shared by Jordan’s national television Al-Mamlaka shows the moment the tank fell and slammed into the cargo ship’s deck, creating a yellow cloud of toxic gas that enveloped the cargo ship and the jetty, while many people tried to flee.

Chlorine is a poisonous yellow gas which is commonly used to disinfect water. It can produce hydrochloric acid in the human body when inhaled, leading to burning and irritation of mucous membranes in the lungs, making the victim unable to breathe as in the situation of drowning.