The death toll from the old silos fire in Aqaba, which happened two weeks ago, has reached seven after the worker identified with the initials M.S.A. died on Tuesday morning.

Nine workers were injured during the explosion; five died within the first week and the remaining victims were transported to Amman’s King Hussein Medical Center in critical condition.

The fire was caused by an oxygen cylinder that had caught fire as a result of workers cutting iron in the building which was blatant violation of safety measures.

The incident received a lot of public attention and criticism, including an MP, amid accusations of negligence toward Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) for its failure to take the necessary precautions during the demolition of the building.

MP Mohammad Riyati shared a video on his Facebook page stating that four people were in clinical death and that the government had not done an adequate job in preventing the incident or following up on the victims.

Since then Deputy Prime Minister Jamal Al Saraira assured that the government would follow up on the incident, in order to “protect the workers’ rights” and hold the culprits responsible.

Director General of the Social Security Corporation, Ezzedine Kanakrieh, insisted that the workers and their families would be compensated as they fall under the umbrella of the provisions of the Social Security Law.

Kanakrieh also instructed the department of safety to investigate the company that was charged with causing the death and injury of its workers, namely Abu Ghraib Trading Co.

The ASEZA is overseeing the transition from the old to the new port in Aqaba. In late March they announced that the emptying of the silos would occur by the end of April and the old port would cease operations by early May.

According to schedule, the old port should be handed over to the investment company implementing the Marsa Zayed development project in September.