A Jordanian court has sentenced five people to three years in jail for a gas leak in the port of Aqaba last year that left 13 dead.

A tank of chlorine gas fell as it was being loaded by crane onto a ship in the Red Sea port on June 27, 2022, killing eight Jordanians and five Vietnamese, as well as injuring 260 others.

A Judicial source said a court in Aqaba convicted the heads of operations at the state-owned port and at the public safety department. The source said the convicted also included the chief of loading and unloading operations, its loading shift leader and another port employee.

Five others were acquitted for lack of evidence in the trial that opened last July with the defendants facing charges of negligence and security failings.

The gas tank's weight far exceeded the maximum load of the crane cable being used to load it, a government investigation found.

Aqaba is Jordan's only maritime gateway and a transit point for the lion's share of its imports and exports.