DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
Authorities said injured have been transferred to medical facilities as authorities carry out initial investigation.
Scores of people have been injured following a massive explosion and fire at the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, more than 1,000km (620 miles) south of capital Tehran, according to officials and state media.
Iran’s customs authority said in a statement that Saturday’s explosion occurred in the Sina container yard, which is affiliated with the Ports and Maritime Organization.
State news agency IRNA and the semi-official news agency Tasnim are quoting the emergency service as saying 281 people have been injured in the explosion.
Iranian state television said initial reports indicate negligence in the storage of flammable materials at the site.
Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, director of Hormozgan province’s crisis management organisation, told state television that the injured have been transferred to medical facilities.
He said that safety officials had previously visited the site of the incident, and issued safety warnings.
لحظه #انفجار در بندر شهید رجایی #بندرعباس pic.twitter.com/aal6HkQmHJ
— خبرگزاری ایسنا (@isna_farsi) April 26, 2025
[Translation: The moment of the explosion at Shahid Rajaei Port]
National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company issued a statement following the blast saying, oil facilities in the area were not affected by the blast.
“The explosion and fire in Shahid Rajaei Port have no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes and oil pipelines related to this company,” the company said.
Earlier, Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Administration official Esmaeil Malekizadeh said the explosion took place near the Shahid Rajaei port dock.
Social media videos showed a huge plume of black smoke and a ball of fire rising from the area of the explosion.
Other videos showed damaged to buildings and vehicles. Several people were also seen around the area attending to the injured and checking the damage to the properties.
Shahid Rajaei port mainly handles container traffic and also has oil tanks and other petrochemical facilities.
In May 2020, Israel has been accused of launching a major cyberattack on the same port, causing transport chaos for days after crashing the facility’s computer system.
The blast comes at a sensitive time as Iranian officials continue to engage in talks with US officials on a possible new nuclear deal.
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