AMMAN: An underground methane leak was the cause of sheep catching fire in a grazing ground in a remote area of northern Jordan, investigators said.
A shepherd recently told the local press he saw his flock “burn and completely disappear” after he let them wander into the rocky depression to search for grass.
The incident set off a frenzy of speculation in the newspapers over the weekend that Jordan was now host to volcanoes or that a massive earthquake was imminent.
Government experts dispatched to the burned region in Um Jaozeh on the outskirts of the city of Salt revealed that a nearby waste treatment plant had saturated the soil with methane gas and organic materials.
“The underground fire erupted when some local residents set fire to dried grass in the vicinity and the sparks spread,” Bahjat Edwan, president of the Jordanian Geologists Association said.
“The phenomena is strange, but there’s no need to panic because no volcanic eruption or earthquake movement was detected,” he added.
Holes were dug in the area to release the trapped gas and the area was flooded to neutralize the problem. Although the soil blackened and dozens of olive trees were charred, “it’s totally safe now,” said Edwan.
He warned, however, that the phenomenon could emerge in other areas in Salt, 25 km northwest of the Jordanian capital Amman because of continuing leaks from the water treatment plant.
Salt resident Mohammed Khreisat said he “moved in with my relatives in Amman because it’s much safer here.” “It’s better safe than sorry,” said the retired policeman.
