Four killed, dozens injured from gas leak at Jordan's port of Aqaba

At least four people were killed in an explosion that followed a gas leak in Jordan's port of Aqaba, state TV reported on Monday.

The toxic leak also injured at least 70 people, although the total number of casualties is not yet known.

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The incident started after a tank filled with toxic gas fell during transportation and started leaking highly explosive gas.

Specialised teams were dealing with incident at the time of the explosion, state news agency Petra said, citing a spokesperson at the Public Security Directorate.

Images of the incident show a powerful cloud of yellow dust brutally engulfing the tanker and workers around.

The industrial port is located a few kilometres away from the coastal city of Aqaba and from several beach resorts.

Jordanian authorities did not provide details on the nature of the "toxic gas", nor on whether the leak could pose health risks to residents nearby or pollute a nearby protected marine reserve established to protect endangered Red Sea corals.