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One dead, 10 injured in Israel acid blast

02 July 2012 17:19 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A pipe containing toxic hydrochloric acid exploded at a drilling site in southern Israel Monday, killing one and injuring 10 others,APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The accident occurred at a drilling installation operated by the Mekorot water company in the Jordan Valley Arava region, south of the Dead Sea.

Environmental Protection Ministry officials said there was no need to evacuate residents from the area, since the materials are only dangerous at about a 200 meter radius, and that the closest residential population is located five km away from the site.

Ministry staff instructed police at the scene on protective measures against the deadly gas.

"Time and time again we see the status quo in the field of hazardous materials," Knesset member Dov Henin, who chairs the Joint Committee on Environment and Health, told Xinhua.

"We can prevent such accidents from happening, but only if we revise and revolutionize the regulations in this branch that are lacking," he said, adding that "There is no need for such tragedies to happen, especially since they can be avoided."

Following the accident, police closed an adjacent major highway. Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said the highway will be reopened over the next few hours.

The injured were medivaced to a medical center in Beersheba.