Flock of sheep incinerated after methane gas leak in desert

A flock of sheep burst into flames and was incinerated after a methane gas leak exploded in desert in northern Jordan...

HomeNews 4 Kids10/14/2009[ Jordan, Middle East ] Tell - A - Friend

A flock of sheep burst into flames and was incinerated after a methane gas leak exploded in the desert in northern Jordan.

The explosion of an underground methane gas leak in a remote area of northern Jordan sparked rumours of an impending volcanic eruption, causing panic across the desert kingdom.

A shepherd said he saw his flock "burn and completely disappear" after he let them wander into a rocky depression to search for grass.

The incident set off a frenzy of speculation at the weekend that Jordan now had its own volcano or that a massive earthquake was imminent.

Government experts dispatched to the burned region in Um Jaozeh on the outskirts of the city of Salt revealed that a nearby waste treatment plant had saturated the soil with methane gas and organic materials.

"The underground fire erupted when some local residents set fire to dried grass in the vicinity and the sparks spread," said Bahjat Edwan, president of the Jordanian Geologists Association.

"The phenomenon is strange, but there's no need to panic because no volcanic eruption or earthquake movement was detected." Holes were dug in the area to release the trapped gas and the area was flooded to neutralize the problem.

Telegraph.co.uk

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