A mysterious disease has appeared in Ethiopia that causes bleeding from the nose and mouth before the patient fell dead due to an infection, according to what was reported by the British Daily Mail on Sunday, due to the emergence of this disease to toxic waste resulting from oil drilling operations carried out by Chinese companies there.
The newspaper reported that the disease, which was said to have spread to villages close to a gas project in Somalia, turns the eyes of its victims yellow, before causing them to overheat, swelling their bodies and ultimately their death.
In addition to other symptoms, including yellowing of the palm, lack of appetite and insomnia, according to a report published by Al-Hurra, quoting the British newspaper, the report also included the denial of officials in Addis Ababa, published by the Guardian newspaper, for the allegations of a health and environmental crisis in the region.
The Daily Mail said the cause of the disease is unclear, although many suspect it is the result of chemical waste that has also poisoned water supplies in the area.
The newspaper quoted a former engineer with the Chinese company who claimed that there have been regular spills of drilling fluids, including sulfuric acid, over the three years he worked at the site in Calop.
Another said: “These people die from the raw toxins that have been spilled as a result of utter negligence. The companies operating in Calop have abandoned their duty to protect the local population.” At the same time, the newspaper indicated that these chemical spills are historical, or may be caused by companies Ethiopian transport.
For its part, said Kitsila Tadese, director of licenses at the Federal Ministry of Mines and Oil in Ethiopia, according to the Daily Mail, "All gas wells in Kalop and elsewhere in the Ogaden basin are closed, safe and secure ... according to international standards."
Ethiopia, located in eastern Africa, had found large quantities of gas in the eastern Ogaden basin in the 1970s. POLY-GCL has been developing the Club and Hilal fields there since the signing of the production-sharing agreement with Ethiopia in 2013. Calub, southeast Jijiga, will start commercial gas production soon.