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Who’s to blame for deaths in Jordan flood?

Jordanians held the government responsible for the Dead Sea incident that claimed the lives of 21 people, including 15 children.

A general view shows the location of the accident where rain storms unleashed flash floods, near the Dead Sea, Jordan October 26, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RC12C7E52190
A general view shows the location of the accident where rain storms unleashed flash floods, near the Dead Sea, Jordan, Oct. 26, 2018. — REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

Jordan’s Minister of Tourism Lina Annab and Minister of Education Azmi Mahafza submitted their resignations Nov. 1, becoming the first political casualties of one of the kingdom’s deadliest incidents in decades.

On Oct. 25, 37 children from an Amman private school, accompanied by seven adults, were on a school outing in the Zarqa Ma’in gorge when flash floods swept away dozens of people, some as far away as the Dead Sea. The floods killed 21 people, including 15 school children, and injured dozens. Local residents, civil defense, police and army personnel took part in a large search and rescue operation that continued late into the night and the next day. 

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