Jordanian father’s heartbreaking tribute to his son who died in flood

Many people in the Arab world took to social networking sites to express their sympathies over the deaths of those killed and shared pictures of the victims of the Dead Sea flooding incident in Jordan on Thursday.

The words of the father of one victim, 15-year-old Ryan Zeyad Fahad al-Tirawi, struck social media users deeply when he expressed his sadness over his son’s tragic death. He said, “God reward me in my misfortunes and let good come out of them. With all sadness, God chose Ryan during the Dead Sea incident.”

The Jordanian Royal Court announced that the national flag will be lowered to half-mast in mourning for three days beginning on Friday.

“This is a mournful tribute to the lives of the students and citizens who were lost during the painful incident that took place near the Dead Sea after they drowned in the floods,” according to reports from the Petra News Agency.

The Jordanian Prime Minister Omar al-Razaz said an investigation is underway to find out what happened. He added, “The organizers of the school trip are fully responsible for the incident.”

He explained, “The school field trip violated instructions from the Ministry of Education banning all trips to the Dead Sea.”
Jordan’s King Abdullah cancelled a planned trip to visit Bahrain on Friday.

Heavy rains hit Jordan on Thursday afternoon, causing floods in several areas which lead to the worst disaster in years. The Dead Sea, the lowest point on the earth, is surrounded by steep valleys that frequently witness flash floods and landslides.