18 dead as flash flood hits Jordan school trip

[ PLEASE SEE ADS IN MY BLOGS [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com] AMMAN: At least 18 people, mainly children and teachers on a school outing, were killed on Thursday in a flash flood near the Dead Sea in Jordan. Up to 34 people were rescued in a dramatic operation involving helicopters, marine divers, swimmers and boats, after a bus with 37 schoolchildren and seven teachers on a trip to a resort area of hot springs were swept into a valley by raging flood waters. Late on Thursday, 10 more children and a teacher were found and awaiting rescue. Many of those killed were children under 14. Families picnicking in the popular destination were also among the dead and injured. Hundreds of families and relatives converged on Southern Shounah hospital, a few kilometers from the resort area. Relatives sobbed and searched for details about the missing children. A doctor in the hospital emergency room said the “bodies kept on coming.” “Ambulances were coming and leaving, dropping dead people and dropping injured people of different ages. By 7 p.m., we had 10 bodies and 11 injured people,” he said.