Smoke rises on Saturday from an explosion at the Rajaie port in the city of Bandar Abbas, in southern Iran. Photo by Mohammad Rasoul Moradi/EPA-EFE
April 26 (UPI) — Four people died and at least 516 were injured in an explosion at southwestern Iran’s port of Badar Abbas, according to state media.
Video distributed by the Mehr news agency showed the explosion at an office building. Other footage showed helicopters dropping water at the site of the fire.
The port, which is near the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf, is 795 miles south of Iran’s Tehran capital.
Debris spread over a wide area, including shattered windows. The fire was contained but port activities were suspended as security and relief forces were on the scene.
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Mohammad Ashouri Taziani, the region’s governor, said injured people were being transferred to Bandar Abbas medical centers.
Helicopters were dispatched to extinguish the flames, authorities said in a BBC report, as rescue workers searched for people still trapped under collapsed roofs.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he has ordered an investigation into the cause of the incident, sending the interior minister to the region to inspect the scene, he posted in Farsi on X.
“So far what has been determined is that containers were stored in a corner of the port that likely contained chemicals which exploded. But until the fire is extinguished, it’s hard to ascertain the cause,” Fatemeh Mohajerani, an Iranian spokesperson, told CNN.
Ambrey Intelligence, a global maritime risk company, told the BBC, the fire occurred because of “improper handling of a shipment of solid fuel intended for use in Iranian ballistic missiles.”
The firm said it found 12 merchant vessels within 5 nautical miles of the explosion during the incident, including seven at the port.
The National Iranian Oil Company told local media that the explosion had “no connection” to the country’s oil refineries, fuel tanks and pipelines.
Shahid Rajaee covers around 5,900 acres, with 5.4 million square feet of warehouse space and 35 shipping births, handling and handles 70 million tons of cargo annually, including oil and general shipping.
