AMMAN — Four years after the
Dead Sea tragedy in which 22 people, the majority
children, were killed by flash floods, some of the victims’ parents are
renewing their request for an investigation to determine their actual cause of
death, and for the victims’ bodies to be exhumed to that end.
اضافة اعلان
On October 25, 2018, torrential rain caused floods
that poured through valleys and ravines in the Dead Sea area, sweeping people,
vehicles, and livestock, Reuters reported at the time. The flash floods also
swept away a school bus that was transporting 44 children and teachers who were
on a school trip.
In July 2020, following an investigation into the
incident, the
Amman Magistrates Court sentenced the school principal and the
owners of a tourism company to three years in prison, finding them guilty of
causing deaths by negligence.
Some of the victims’ families, however, are asking
for the investigation into the incident to be reopened.
“We trust the judicial system in Jordan, that is why
we demand that the investigation be reopened,” said Jameel Al Quran, father of
Raya, one of the children who died in the tragedy.
Quran told
Jordan News that the wrong people were
sentenced, and that he and some of the other parents “have filed another case
to find the reason of death”.
They say that, based on the condition of the
children’s bodies — some had burn marks — “it is unbelievable that the children
drowned”.
Most of the state institutions “have let us down”,
he said, adding that the parents “protested many times after the tragedy,
asking for justice for their children, to no avail”.
“Pain does not diminish over time, and not knowing
what actually happened is the worst pain,” he stressed.
Munther Al-Azeh, the father of two girls who lost
their lives, Reem and Hind, refused to talk about the tragedy, saying only that
he does not trust any official institution anymore.
“Our children were killed and no one has succeeded
in holding those who let us down fully accountable; I do not want to talk about
this again, it reopens our wounds and there is nothing we can do,” Azeh said.
Several parents filed new lawsuits, according to
their attorney Mohammad Al-Maharmeh.
“We filed lawsuits against several institutions for
dereliction of duty, as we believe that they bear part of the responsibility
for the death of these victims, and are asking for psychological and moral
damages,” he told
Jordan News.
He added that there are also cases in which injured
survivors are asking for compensation, as “they are still bearing the consequences
of this tragic event”.
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