The Jordanian authorities have found on Monday the bodies of two tourists of Belgian nationality in the town of Shobak, southwest of Jordan, after the floods caused by the heavy rains this Sunday. There is located, where hundreds of tourists were evacuated.
“The search and rescue teams formed in the southern region for civil defense, police and gendarmes to look for the disappeared in Shobak (…) found lifeless a mother and her son of Belgian nationality,” the spokesman has indicated by the GENERAL SECURITY DIRECTORATE. Both had disappeared after heavy torrential rains.
He added that they carried out “wide search operations in difficult climatic conditions and difficult land” for several hours, until the victims were found.
In addition, the authorities have confirmed that an investigation has been opened to clarify what happened, but they have not indicated whether the two people died inside the immense archaeological site or outside it.
On Sunday, the rescue teams of the commissioner of the Department of Protected Areas and Tourism of Petra (PDTRA) and the Civil Defense evacuated “hundreds of tourists in Petra”, without specifying the concrete figure of among the 1,785 people who visited the temple during that day.
The Jordanian authority also suspended the sale of tickets to Petra from the first hour of Sunday to guarantee the safety of tourists.
Petra has registered heavy rains due to the arrival of a storm that affected the regions of southern Jordan, which caused sudden floods in some valleys and low areas, in the midst of a significant decrease in temperatures and strong winds.
In 2022, heavy rains forced the authorities to evacuate more than 1,700 tourists from the wonder of the world, although then they pointed out that this phenomenon of flooding was repeated in the last 30 years.
Previously, in 2018 a total of 12 people victims of torrential rains in several areas of the country died, and forced to evacuate thousands of citizens and tourists from the monumental city of Petra.
which dates back to the time of the Nebateos, around the 5th century BC, and is considered one of the most important treasures in the world.
