From Ar'ara an-Naqab to Jordan: Efforts to repatriate the body of a citizen swept away by floods and found after two weeks

The body of Jordanian citizen Hammad Khalil al-Dhalam al-Balawi (40) was found on the Palestinian side of the Dead Sea, two weeks after he was swept away by floods in the Southern Shuna area of Jordan. Efforts continue in the town of Ar'ara an-Naqab to complete procedures for transferring the body to Jordan.

The body of Jordanian citizen Hammad Khalil al-Dhalam al-Balawi (40) was found on the Palestinian side of the Dead Sea, about two weeks after he went missing when floods swept him away in the Southern Shuna area of Balqa Governorate in Jordan. The Balawi family announced yesterday, Tuesday, that they had found the body of their son after he was swept away by raging floods in the Sweimeh area of the Southern Shuna district during the heavy rainstorm that hit the region about two weeks ago. According to the account of his brother Suleiman al-Balawi, the floods swept away Hammad and about 350 head of sheep as he tried to move them away from the floodwater and save them from the rushing water; his children witnessed the tragic incident but could not save him. The family confirmed that DNA test results on a body found on the Ein Gedi beach, west of the Dead Sea, officially proved it was their son Hammad, ending two weeks of search and anticipation. Only the issuance of a document from the Israeli police remains, ahead of handing him over and transferring him to the Jordanian side. Meanwhile, Ali Abu Juwayed, a relative of the deceased and former deputy head of the Ar'ara an-Naqab local council, called for expediting the completion of official procedures.