18 killed, mostly children, after Jordan flash flood sweeps away school bus on Dead Sea outing
- The bus was caught in a narrow stream as sudden torrential rainstorm flooded the area
At least 18 people, mainly schoolchildren and teachers, were killed on Thursday when a bus was swept away by a flash flood during an outing near Jordan’s Dead Sea in one of the worst disasters in the kingdom in years, rescuers and hospital workers said.
Thirty-four people were rescued in the area in a major operation involving police helicopters and hundreds of army troops, police chief Brigadier General Farid al Sharaa told state television. Some of those rescued were in a serious condition.
Many of those killed were children under 14. A number of families picnicking in the popular destination were also among the dead and injured, rescuers said, without giving a breakdown of numbers.
Hundreds of families and relatives converged on Shounah hospital a few kilometres from the resort area. Relatives sobbed and searched for details about the missing children, a witness said.
The flooding occurred after heavy rainfall, the first such rains after the end of the summer season.
Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said it appeared the school had broken regulations by the ministry of education that forbade trips to the Dead Sea due to bad weather and pledged an investigation that would hold anyone found responsible for any wrongdoing accountable.