In what is being called the worst oil spill in Israeli History, millions of liters of crude oil were leaked into the Evrona nature reserve near the Israeli-Jordanian border just north of Eilat.
The spill has caused large amounts of potentially poisonous gas to be released near Eilat and Aqaba, which have raised health concerns and forced residents to stay indoors with their doors and windows closed.
David, an eye-witness to the scene in Eilat yesterday, told Breaking Israel News that the situation is unbearable. “Everyone is staying inside. No one is even opening their doors. You just can’t leave your house.”
He added that he believes the situation in Jordan to be worse. “I heard that people are crowding the hospitals due to health issues caused by the gas on the Jordanian side”.
The pipeline, Eilat – Ashkelon crude oil line, ruptured near the Evrona reserve. The line was pouring out oil for well over two hours before authorities were able to get it under control. Israeli environmental officials predict that the cleanup effort could take years.
Environment Ministry representative Guy Samet told Globes Magazine that; “the full scope of the incident is still not clear to us, but it is certainly a matter of millions of liters of crude oil, which is dangerous both to animals and to the nature reserve itself.”
Samet said that a stream estimated at 4.3 miles of oil is currently flowing through the reserve. The reserve, which is home to a large gazelle population and the world’s northernmost doum palms, a rare type of branching palm tree will suffer immeasurably due to the spill.
“This is one of the State of Israel’s gravest pollution events,” Samet confirmed on Israel Radio on Thursday.
Ronen Moshe, a spokesman for the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC), said that the spill occurred in a new section of the pipeline.
According to a report in Ha’aretz, the breach occurred during prep work for the construction of an international airport in Timna in southern Israel. The reasons for the spill are being investigated.
Moshe said on Wednesday night that the spill had not affected oil supply and that “there are dozens of people in the field taking care of the aftermath”.
EAPC workers were joined by Israeli firefighters and rescue forces who worked to contain the spill. The teams managed to stop the oil before it reached the Jordanian border. Route 90, the main road to Eilat, however, was temporarily closed due to emergency work being done in order to contain the spill. The oil flow was reportedly contained after several hours.
