At least 40 people have been killed and around 1,000 people were injured in a massive explosion at Shahid Rajaye Port near Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on Saturday.
According to a statement carried by the Iranian government website, 190 of the injured remain hospitalized.
The explosion affected offices belonging to the port, and its strength was sufficient to feel trembling in nearby cities, according to domestic reports. The explosion also smashed the glass of a building several kilometers from the location of the incident.
Iranian state media also reported that the building collapse had been caused by the explosion, but no further details were provided.
Efforts to control the fire continued on Sunday. State television reported that the fire was in control, indicating that activities have resumed at the port and footage of commercial vessel containers has been unloaded.
However, recent images released by state media also show the extent of damage caused by the explosion. Footage taken from a helicopter flying over the scene showed a crater that appears to be a metre-long depth surrounded by burnt containers, trucks and cars.
Local governments have warned of air pollution from chemicals such as ammonia, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. As a precaution, schools and businesses in the area remained closed on Sunday.
Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian visited the injured on Sunday. “We have to find out why that happened,” he said during a meeting with officials shown on state television.
The explosion at the port comes when Iran and the US meet in Oman on Saturday The third round of negotiations On Tehran’s rapid advancement of nuclear program.
What caused the explosion?
The Chief of Crisis Management of Hormozgan, including Bandar Abbas, said the cause of the explosion remains unknown.
Iran’s customs agency blamed the explosion on “stockpilings of dangerous materials and chemicals stored in ports,” state-run IRNA news agency said on Saturday.
Private security company Ambrey reported that the port had shipped “sodium perchlorate rocket fuel” in March.
“The fire reportedly was the result of improper handling of solid fuel shipments intended for use in Iran’s ballistic missiles,” the company said.
Iranian officials have not allowed to receive shipments.
No one in Iran suggested that the explosion came from the attack. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araguchi said on Wednesday, “Our security services are on high alert considering past cases of sabotage and assassination operations designed to trigger legitimate responses.”
Social media videos show that reddish smoke rises from the fire before the explosion, suggesting that the compound may have been involved in the explosion. Beyer 2020. Following the explosion, black swirling smoke filled the sky. Other videos show glass blown away from a building kilometres from the epicenter of the explosion.
Meanwhile, footage from state media showed that injured crowds gathered at least one hospital, and ambulances were growing when the ambulance arrived.
Shahid Rajaee Port is the main facility for container shipping in the Islamic Republic, which processes around 72.5 million tonnes of goods per year.
The Home Office said it has begun an investigation into the explosion. Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian expressed his sadness to those affected.
