13 people died and 251 were injured in a chlorine gas leak from a storage tank at Jordan’s Aqaba port, officials and state media reported on Monday, as authorities called on residents to shut windows and stay indoors.
The leak came after a tank filled with 25 tonnes of chlorine gas being exported to Djibouti fell while being transported, officials said.
A video posted on state television’s Twitter page showed a storage tank falling from a winch and slamming into the deck of a ship, followed by yellow-coloured gas rising into the air as people ran away.
City health authorities called on residents to close their windows and stay in their homes, according to state TV.
Specialized teams are still dealing with the leak, the Civil Defence service said on its Facebook page. Evacuation planes were being sent into Aqaba, state television said.
Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh arrived at Aqaba and headed to a hospital where some of the injured were being treated, state TV reported.
Al-Khasawneh also formed an investigation team into the incident chaired by the interior minister, state TV cited the information minister as saying.
The bodies of 46 dead migrants were discovered inside a tractor-trailer on Monday in San Antonio, Texas, the city’s fire department said, in one of the most deadly recent incidents of human smuggling along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The truck was found next to railroad tracks in a remote area on the city’s southern outskirts and a San Antonio Fire Department official said they found “stacks of bodies” and no signs of water in the truck.
Sixteen other people found inside the trailer were transported to hospitals for heat stroke and exhaustion, including four minors, but no children were among the dead, the department said.
Temperatures in San Antonio, which is about 160 miles (250 km) from the Mexican border, swelled to a high of 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius) on Monday with high humidity.
The city’s Police Chief William McManus said a person who works in a nearby building heard a cry for help and came out to investigate. The worker found the trailer doors partially opened and looked inside and found a number of dead bodies.
McManus said there is now a federal investigation and that three people were in custody following the incident, though their involvement is not yet clear.
A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that its Homeland Security Investigations division was investigating “an alleged human smuggling event” in coordination with local police.
The deaths once again highlight the challenge of controlling illegal migration across the U.S.-Mexico border. The issue has proven difficult for U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat who has pledged to reverse some of the hardline immigration policies of his Republican predecessor Donald Trump. Republicans have criticized Biden’s border strategy ahead of the midterm congressional elections in November.
Police Chief McManus said this was the largest incident of its kind in the city. In July 2017, ten migrants died after being transported in a tractor-trailer that was discovered by San Antonio police in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa will declare Thailand’s standpoint in the conservation and administration of marine and coastal resources to ensure sustainable and balanced usage on Tuesday (June 28) at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.
The conference, held from June 27 to July 1, aims to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. Thailand will join 193 countries and over 600 non-government organisations in a panel to discuss the scaling up of ocean actions based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14 through stocktaking, partnerships, and solutions.
This year’s conference is co-hosted by Portugal and Kenya and is the second UN Ocean Conference after the first was held in New York, the USA in 2017.
After participating in the High-level Political Forum on Monday, Varawut said that he would take the stage on Tuesday to declare Thailand’s role and standpoint in ocean conservation, as well as give a voluntary commitment to drive and support actions for the conservation and administration of oceans, seas, and marine resources worldwide.
“I believe that Thailand has demonstrated outstanding achievements in marine resources conservation and protection, as well as in promoting participation from all related parties,” he said. “As Thailand’s representative, I will emphasize the importance of the ocean and urge all countries to solemnly work together to achieve the goals that the conference has set. I hope that every country will scale up their ocean actions after the Covid-19 outbreak has subsided, and want all parties to continue monitoring the countries’ efforts in conserving the oceans and using marine resources in a balanced and sustainable manner.”
Sophon Thongdee, director-general of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, added that since the first UN Ocean Conference meeting in 2017, the department as the central agency in marine resource conservation has been working with over 20 agencies in implementing the Sustainable Development Goal 14, and has periodically reported the progress to the government via the National Marine and Coastal Resource Policy and Administration Planning Committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan.
“I believe that Thailand can be a leader and a model in sustainable administration of marine and coastal resources. The department will continue to promote the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 under the close supervision of the Natural Resources and Environment Minister.
Also joining the Natural Resources and Environment Minister in the 2022 UN Ocean Conference under the order of Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha are Jatuporn Buruspat, Natural Resources and Environment permanent-secretary, representatives from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Department of Fisheries, Marine Department, and Krongkanit Rakcharoen, Ambassador of Thailand to Portugal.
ด้านผู้นำกลุ่มประเทศ G7 ให้คำมั่นที่จะระดมทุน 6 แสนล้านเหรียญสหรัฐในช่วงเวลา 5 ปี เพื่อสนับสนุนโครงสร้างพื้นฐานในประเทศกำลังพัฒนาและตอบโต้โครงการของจีนเช่นกัน ภายใต้โครงการความร่วมมือโครงสร้างพื้นฐานและการลงทุนทั่วโลก (Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment)
SootinClaimon.Com 