Aqaba, Sept. 14 (Petra) -- Fourteen people were injured, mostly lightly to moderately, after a limited ammonia gas leak occurred Monday during routine maintenance work at the Aqaba Industrial Complex, with authorities confirming that the situation was brought under control immediately.
Aqaba Governor Ayman Awaisheh told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that the teams at the site promptly shut the main valve and stopped the leak. Four of the injured were transported by Civil Defense personnel to hospitals for treatment, while the remaining cases were treated on-site at the complex's internal clinics.
Awaisheh said relevant authorities carried out precautionary evacuations to safe points within the facility under the established emergency plan, as a precaution against further developments. No full-scale evacuation of the area was carried out, he stressed.
Nedal Ouran, Commissioner for Environment and Public Safety Affairs at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), told Petra that the authority's teams, in coordination with relevant agencies, handled the incident according to approved public safety and emergency procedures, stressing that the situation is fully under control.
Ouran said specialized teams are continuing safety procedures and verifying the site's readiness ahead of resuming operations in the coming period, noting that environmental and air quality readings taken in the area showed clean air with no contamination.
Awaisheh praised the rapid response of Civil Defense crews, security agencies and ASEZA personnel in handling and containing the incident, affirming the readiness of all relevant authorities to deal with similar situations.
//Petra// NQ
