At least 18 people have died and several others are missing after flooding hit a school trip in Jordan's Dead Sea area.

Most of the victims are children, many younger than 14, from a private school in the country's capital Amman.

They had been on an outing with chaperones when, according to a witness, floodwater swept their bus into a valley.

A rescue operation was launched with police helicopters and hundreds of soldiers saving 34 people, some of whom are in a serious condition.

Image: The children affected were mostly from a school in Amman

A number of families were having picnics in the area when the flood hit and they were also among the dead and injured.


Relatives of those affected have been gathering outside a local hospital, waiting for news.

Huge spotlights were trained on the area on Thursday night and 10 more students had reportedly been found and were awaiting rescue.

The Israeli military sent helicopters to help the Jordanian emergency services.

Image: The children were attending picnics in the Dead Sea area. File pic

Jordan's prime minister Omar Razzaz visited the scene to oversee the rescue mission.

Later on his Twitter account, he appeared to suggest there had been something amiss in the school's application to run the trip.

After offering his condolences to the families affected and best wishes for recovery of those injured, he said: "The basic lesson is that everyone must abide by regulations and instructions."

He posted a copy of the school's field trip permit, which had named a different destination - not the Dead Sea.

He said the correspondence indicated a lack of "clear commitment to the conditions", adding there would be an investigation and those at fault would be "held accountable".

Jordan's King Abdullah cancelled a trip to Bahrain to follow the rescue.