The death toll from a powerful explosion at Iran’s biggest port of Bandar Abbas has risen to at least 25, with more than 700 people injured, state media reports, as firefighters work to extinguish the blaze.
Saturday’s blast, which officials say was probably caused by chemical materials, took place in the Shahid Rajaee section of the port — Iran’s biggest container hub.
The force of the explosion shattered windows for several kilometres around Bandar Abbas, which is located near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, tearing metal shreds off shipping containers and badly damaging goods stored inside, state media reports said.
Iran’s crisis management organisation said that of the 752 people who had received treatment for their injuries, 190 were still being treated in medical centres.
More than 700 injured
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation of the incident and sent to the site his interior minister, who said efforts were continuing to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to other areas.
Port operations were paused, and trucks were evacuated from the area where the explosion occurred in fear that it likely contained “dangerous goods and chemicals”.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency posted footage of injured men lying on the road being tended to amid scenes of confusion.
Officials said windows shattered kilometres away and the blast could be heard as far as Qeshm Island, 26 kilometres south of the port. Source: AP / Mohammad Rasoul Moradi
What has Iran said?
Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management organisation, blamed the incident on poor storage.
“The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers,” he told Iran’s ILNA news agency.
“Previously, the director general of crisis management had given warnings to this port during their visits and had pointed out the possibility of danger,” Zafari added.
However, an Iranian government spokesperson said that although chemicals had likely caused the blast, it was not yet possible to determine the exact reason.
Past incidents
It’s not the first time a deadly incident like this has hit Iran, with many blaming negligence.
Recent events have included:
- Refinery fires
- A gas explosion at a coal mine
- An emergency repair incident at Bandar Abbas that killed one worker in 2023
Iran has blamed some other incidents on its arch-foe Israel, which has carried out attacks on Iranian soil targeting Iran’s nuclear program in recent years and
With reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
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