At least 516 injured in massive explosion in Iran's Bandar Abbas city – State News Agency IRNA

At least 516 injured in massive explosion in Iran's Bandar Abbas city – State News Agency IRNA
[Bandar Abbas, Iran]

According to a report by Al Jazeera, at least 516 people have been injured in a massive explosion at the Shahid Rajaei port in Bandar Abbas, a city on Iran's southern coast. The explosion caused a large fire, and a huge plume of black smoke and a ball of fire were seen rising into the sky, as shown in various videos circulating on social media.

Iran's state media reported on Saturday that the explosion occurred at Shahid Rajaei, the country's largest commercial port, located in Hormozgan province. The injured have been transferred to local medical centers.

Preliminary reports indicate that the accident happened due to improper storage of flammable materials in a section of the port. Tehran Times reported that the explosion began with the detonation of several containers.

Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, the head of Hormozgan province's disaster management organization, stated that safety officials had already inspected the site and issued warnings. However, the National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company announced that their oil facilities were not damaged by the explosion.

In a statement, they said, "The explosion and fire at Shahid Rajaei Port have no connection to our refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes, or pipelines."

Videos from the scene show damage to many buildings and vehicles in the surrounding area. Local residents rushed to help the injured and observed the damage to nearby properties.

It is worth noting that while the port is primarily used for container transport, it also houses oil and petrochemical storage facilities. In May 2020, the same port was reportedly targeted by a cyberattack, which was blamed on Israel.

This explosion comes at a time when discussions are ongoing between Iran and the United States regarding a potential new nuclear agreement.