Oil Spill Damages Israel Desert Nature Reserve
Image by getty images
An oil spill from a pipeline into a desert nature reserve near Eilat is being called one of Israel’s worst environmental disasters.
The Eilat –Ashkelon pipeline ruptured Wednesday night next to the Evrona reserve, on the border with Jordan. The break occurred during maintenance work on the pipeline that runs between the Mediterranean and Red seas, according to reports citing a preliminary investigation.
More than 80 people were treated for respiratory problems due to the spill, mostly over the border in Jordan. Three Israelis were hospitalized for inhaling toxic fumes.
The amount of crude oil spilled is estimated at thousands of gallons, according to the Environment Protection Ministry.
“Rehabilitation will take months, if not years,” Guy Samet, the director of the southern region for the Environmental Protection Ministry, told Israel Radio. “This is one of the State of Israel’s most serious pollution events. We are still having trouble gauging the full extent of the contamination.”
Highway 90, the main road into the resort town of Eilat, was closed in both directions for about 30 miles as emergency teams worked to staunch the flow of oil.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
