Jordan ministers resign after flash floods kill 21

Jordan’s education and tourism ministers have resigned after flash floods killed 21 people, mostly children, during a school outing at a resort in the capital Amman last Thursday.

“Education Minister Azmi Mahafzah and Tourism Minister Lina Annab submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz,” a Jordanian official told AFP.

Annab wrote on Twitter that she was stepping down “in the shadow of the general political climate and the painful period.”

A probe set up by the Parliament into the incident blamed some Jordanian ministers for “negligence.” Several members of the legislature have also called for the ministers to step down.

The school trip had been ordered despite ominous weather forecasts, according to media reports.

The floods, which had been triggered by heavy downpours, filled up valleys and ravines, washing up people and livestock towards the Dead Sea.

They hit the children, their teachers, and others on the trip after all stepped down from their bus in the Zarqa Ma’in gorge in Amman. Fifteen of the fatalities were children.

The incident marked one of the deadliest in the kingdom in decades, becoming known as “Black Thursday.”

Dozens others were also injured during the incident, while 37 others have been rescued during dramatic search operations which involved helicopters and divers.

Press TV