At least 13 people have been killed and hundreds of others are reported injured following a toxic gas leak from a storage tank in Jordan.
State media has reported 13 people have died following the incident at Aqaba Port, with more than 250 others hurt.
CCTV video released online, and shared by the country’s state news broadcaster, show a chemical storage container falling after a crane malfunction, causing the gas leak in Jordan.
The tanker, reportedly contained chlorine, then releases a cloud of yellow gas which sent workers running.
Health authorities have told residents to close their windows and stay in their homes, according to state media.
Specialists have been sent to the scene to clean up the hazardous materials, according to the Civil Defence Department.
Chlorine can be life-threatening through build up liquid in the lungs and internal burning, if inhaled.
According to the government, eight of the deceased were Jordanians, CNN reports, with the remaining victims of different nationalities.
The injured include 45 workers with the Public Security Directorate, Civil Defense and Gendarmerie Cadres First Responders.
Nearby hospitals are reportedly at full capacity, according to Jordanian State TV.
Aqaba does have an oil terminal and the city lies around 10 miles north of the port.
The southern beach near the Red Sea is also a popular tourist resort and has been evacuated as a precaution according to the AFP news agency.
Aqaba Port’s deputy director told the broadcaster AlMamlaka TV that the cable carrying the container, carrying between 25 – 30 tonnes of chlorine, “broke”. It has been due to be exported to Djibouti.