Jordan flash flood kills at least 18, mostly children
Tehran (KNA) - At least 18 people, mainly schoolchildren and teachers, were killed on Thursday by a flash flood during a school 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 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.
Civil defense spokesman Captain Iyad al Omar told Reuters the number of casualties was expected to rise.
Hundreds of families and relatives converged on Shounah hospital a few kilometers 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.
Source: PressTV