AMMAN, 27 January 2008 — At least 20 people were killed and 16 injured yesterday when a bus collided with a water tanker on the highway between the Jordanian capital Amman and the ancient city of Jerash, 30 kilometers away. The two vehicles fell into a valley near the highway after collision, Mohammad Khatib, spokesman for the Public Security Department, said.
Sources at the state-run Jerash hospital said the casualty toll could rise as many of the survivors were seriously injured.
The tour bus, which was operated by the privately owned Jordanian Trust Co., was traveling from the northern town of Jerash to Irbib, located about 88 kilometers north of Amman when it crashed with the tanker and overturned into a valley. Police were investigating the accident, which was believed to have involved mainly Jordanian citizens, Khatib said. It was not immediately clear if foreigners were injured or killed in the crash, he said.
Meanwhile, in another development, Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad Al-Bolani yesterday discussed with the Jordanian government a mechanism for issuing entry visas to Iraqis wishing to visit Jordan. Bolani met for this purpose with Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi and Interior Minister Eid Al-Fayez.
“The discussions focused on regulating the entry of Iraqis to Jordan through the issuance of entry visas in response to a request by the Iraqi side,” according to a statement from the premier’s office. Dahabi promised the Iraqi minister to study the issue through assigning the task to an Iraqi company “which will receive applications for entry visas to Jordan,” the statement said.
“The firm will dispatch the applications to the concerned authorities in Jordan, which will in turn return the approved list of names to the Iraqi company,” it added. However, the Jordanian prime minister indicated that his government would discuss granting entry visas to Iraqi businessmen who have relatives in Jordan.
At least 500,000 Iraqis have fled to Jordan for safety in the wake of the 2003 US-led invasion of their country. Over the past few months, the Iraqi government expressed concerns over Jordan’s hosting of a large number of Iraqis, particularly followers of the previous regime of slain President Saddam Hussein, and approached Amman with plans to regulate their entry to the Hashemite kingdom.
