Thirteen people were killed, including at least four Asian migrants, as a result of toxic chlorine gas escaping on the dockside in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba, officials said.
More than 250 people were injured in the accident out of whom 123 remained in hospital, according to the latest toll update.
Most were being treated for the effects of breathing chlorine gas, a common cleaning agent that also has a range of other industrial uses and can be employed as a chemical weapons agent.
Interior Minister General Mazen al-Faraya has said that the port began returning to normal, with all docks due to be reopen except for Dock Four, where further safety checks were to be carried out.
"The situation in Aqaba is now under control," Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh told state television after visiting the port.
The chlorine escaped when the cable snapped on a crane loading a tank of liquefied gas onto a ship, sending it crashing to the ground on the dockside. The force of the fall punctured the pressurised container, enveloping the freighter Forest 6 in a shroud of the bright yellow gas, as per CCTV footage. Chlorine has a range of industrial uses and is infamous for its use as a chemical weapons agent in World War I. It attacks the respiratory system, skin and eyes.
The nearby south beach, which is popular with tourists, was evacuated after the accident, as were adjacent residential areas but residents were later told they could return to their homes.
Aqaba tourist department official Nidal al-Majali said the lack of wind helped to prevent the gas cloud spreading outside the port. Jordan's Aqaba port is the country's only maritime gateway and a transit point for the lion's share of its imports and exports.
The UAE has expressed its solidarity with Jordan over the victims of the tragic accident. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the Jordanian government and people and to the families of the victims of this tragedy, as well as its wishes for a speedy recovery for all the injured.
