Eleven injured in ammonia gas leak at Jordan’s Aqaba industrial complex

(Corrects correspondent name in reporting line; no change in text)

AMMAN, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Eleven people were injured in an ammonia gas leak at an industrial complex in Jordan’s southern city of Aqaba on Monday, an official told Reuters.

Authorities evacuated the southern port as a precaution following the leak, state TV reported.

The commissioner for environment and public safety at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, Nidal Al-Ouran, said the leak had been contained and that the injuries ranged from minor to moderate.

He said the incident occurred during maintenance work on an old pump or pressure equipment in the southern industrial area of Aqaba, away from residential areas. Ammonia gas that had accumulated in the equipment leaked in a small quantity, he said.

Without naming it, Al-Ouran said the maintenance work was being carried out for a Japanese company.

Workers would be allowed to return to their sites after teams from the authority and other relevant agencies carried out another inspection, took the necessary measurements and confirmed there were no remaining risks, he said.

(Reporting by Hiba Issawi and Jehad Abu Shalbak in Amman, Nayera Abdallah and Eman Abouhassira in Dubai Editing by David Goodman and Barbara Lewis)