Three dead, scores injured in 200 accidents as country sees first rains

AMMAN — Three citizens were killed in traffic accidents on Wednesday, the day that witnessed the first rain of autumn, according to a Central Traffic Department official. 

Across the Kingdom, about 200 car accidents occurred, resulting in the deaths of three men in their 20s, according to the Traffic Department and the Civil Defence Department (CDD).

Maj. Jalal Rahahleh, director of public relations at the Central Traffic Department, told The Jordan Times that the accident that caused the death of a 28-year-old man occurred in the early morning hours in Jerash, some 48 kilometres north of Amman, while two others, in Aqaba and Balqa, caused the deaths of two young people, a woman aged 20 and a man aged 24, after midnight.

“There were 130 car collisions this morning, but the number of accidents increased, reaching 180 [by early afternoon],” Rahahleh told The Jordan Times.

The CDD statement reported car collisions in Aqaba, Balqa, Mafraq and the capital over a 24-hour period, with most accidents happening after the heavy downpour of rain.

An official from the CDD’s media office told The Jordan Times that around 80 per cent of accidents that occurred Wednesday morning had no injuries.

“To avoid further injuries and traffic disasters, we advise citizens to stick to their lanes and drive slowly,” stressed Rahahleh.

On Tuesday, the Jordan Meteorological Department had forecast a slight increase in temperatures for the end of the week, saying that they would reach about 24°C in east Amman and 21°C in west Amman.

The yearly rainfall in autumn ranges on average between 20 and 25 per cent of the whole rainfall in Jordan, according to the meteorological department.