Panel holds education, tourism ministers accountable over Dead Sea tragedy
Shaheennews –
A report by a fact-finding committee probing the tragic incident of the Dead Sea, which left 21 people dead and many more injured, Monday held the ministers of education and tourism the moral and political responsibility for the Oct. 25 tragedy.
In a session chaired by Lower House Speaker Atif Tarawneh and attended by Prime Minister Omar Razzaz and Cabinet members, the legislature brought the curtain down on the harrowing incident, which triggered a public outcry and was pending before the judiciary.
Yesterday, a Royal Decree was issued accepting the resignation of Education Minister Azmi Mahafzah and Tourism Minister Lina Annab, as the premier had already announced that his government assumed the “moral, administrative and practical” responsibility for the deaths, most of them picnicking schoolchildren.
The report recommended that the government take legal and disciplinary action against the Head of the Educational and Technical Affairs at the Education Directorate in the Amman University District for violating picnicking protocol. It also demanded penalties against underperformers for not locking the area and the absence of police officers.
Moreover, the report urged setting up a new mechanism for handing over the dead bodies to familes, taking into account the scientific basis, preserving the dignity of the deceased and respecting the feelings of their families. It also demanded that an early warning system be placed at the Dead Sea area, Civil Defence aircraft to provide aid in rescue operations and to divers and rescuers at the Aqaba and Dead Sea shores.
It also attributed the incident to the education ministry’s failure to abide by the weather forecast, which had been circulated to all ministries, the school’s infringement of outing instructions in terms of the pupils’ classes, alteration in the trip’s destination and objectives and students’ manifest for the trip, and contracting a tour company without informing the ministry and obtaining the required approval.
According to the report, the touring company had contradicted the instructions of the tourism ministry on the dangers of some regions, basis and terms of adventurous tourism regarding the number of participants in the trip.
Poor coordination with the relevant authorities was also in the report, in addition to not taking into consideration the weather conditions, lack of public safety and emergencies kits, as well as the non-adherence to cautionary signs in the area.
The report, further, found out that one of the two coordinating companies was unlicensed for conducting tourism activities.
It also noted that the adjacent Wadi Zarqa-Maeen Dam was empty of water a whole day before the accident; therefore it was not the reason for the flooding. The report also suggested the need for fixed security posts near areas where picnicking is prohibited and to create detours in the area. The weak role of governors in exercising their powers was also highlighted in the report.
The premier decided to form the investigaive committee, which was chaired by deputy premier Rajai Muasher and comprised as members the ministers of justice, interior, education and higher education, health, municipal affairs, tourism, legal affairs, media affairs, public works and housing.
Razzaz tasked the committee with submitting a comprehensive report on all details of the incident, so as the government could take the appropriate measures in this regard.
He, moreover, assigned the panel with reviewing the conditions and standards of school trips, and to present recommendations for tightening up these procedures to ensure the safety of the students.
