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Israel is offering Jordan assistance following Monday's toxic gas blast at the Port of Aqaba as the death toll rose to 13.
“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.
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This image grab taken from a CCTV footage broadcasted by Jordan's Al-Mamlaka TV
(Photo: AFP)
Footage of the docked tanker showed a large cylinder dropping from a crane and releasing a large plume of yellow gas as workers scrambled to get away from the scene. The force of the blast sent a truck rolling down the harborside.
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.”
Jordanian state-run TV outlets said that the death toll from the blast had risen to 13 with 199 hospitalized. The Public Security Directorate said a total of 251 people were injured.
The injured were transported to two hospitals -- a private facility and a field hospital.
Aqaba health director Jamal Obeidat said that the hospitals in the area were full and could not receive more patients.
The Port of Aqaba is located on the Red Sea, close to the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat.