Authorities monitoring site of mountain collapse in Ajloun

AMMAN — A “large-scale” collapse affecting around 40 dunums of a mountainous land in Rajeb, Ajloun, took place late Sunday, causing no damage to buildings or harm to locals, security sources said on Monday.

The hilly village, located near the Kufranjah town north of the Jordan Valley, some 70km northwest of Amman, has seen some stone-crushing activity, “well away” from populated areas, but official sources did not confirm whether the stone crushers were behind the incident.

Jordan Geologists Association (JGA) President Sakher Nsour, however, said the landslide is most likely caused by the activities.

In a phone interview with The Jordan Times, Nsour said the collapse could have been averted had workers followed the recognised standards.

“Construction projects use stone-crushers to extract gravel from limestone,” Nsour said, adding that when such “crushing” activities are implemented, a large part of the mountain is removed, making it susceptible to collapsing. 

The “sudden collapse” was due to “severe cracks” in the mountain, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Ajloun Civil Defence Department (CDD) Director Col. Hani Smadi as saying. 

For his part, Kufranjah District Governor Mohammad Atallah said a local committee from Ajloun was formed to investigate the causes of the incident.

The Public Security Department (PSD) is not specialised in investigating the causes of the landslide, which is the job of geologists and specialists in the field, PSD Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times over the phone, adding that the department will contact the specialists to understand the causes of the collapse. 

Ajloun PSD and CDD cadres visited the site on Monday morning, Sartawi said, adding that the collapse has stopped. 

The spokesperson stressed that the necessary precautions have been taken, noting that cadres are monitoring the area as a precaution.

Security personnel had been dispatched to the site in response to reports by Rajeb residents who heard a loud booming sound nearby, according to a PSD statement.

The JGA president said that there should be more resident geologists in the Kingdom’s governorates and municipalities to observe and keep track of changes in local topography.

“The hilly land that had seen the collapse must have become very unstable by now,” Nsour said, warning that leaving it without “proper fencing” may endanger the wellbeing of the public. 

Omar Obeidat contributed to this report