The fires were still burning on Sunday after a mass explosion crossed the largest commercial port in Iran the previous day, killing at least 25 people and leaving hundreds more injured, according to local media.
The explosion occurred on Saturday in the port of Shahid Rajaee in southern Iran, near the hormuz narrow, through which a fifth of the world oil production passes.
The Puerto Customs Office said in a statement taken by state television that the explosion probably resulted from a fire that exploded in the storage of hazardous and chemical materials. A regional emergency officer said several containers had exploded.
The New York Times He quoted a person with ties with the body of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard of Iran, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security issues, saying that what exploded was sodium perclorato, an important ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.
Iranian news agency Tasnimciting the provincial judicial chief, gave an updated toll on Sunday of 25 people killed. State TV said around 800 people were injured.
The live images on Sunday showed a thick black smoke still visible on the scene. “The fire is under control but it is not yet out,” said a state television correspondent from the site around 20 hours after the explosion.
The explosion was so powerful that he felt and listened about 50 kilometers away, Far The news agency reported.
Speaking on Sunday at the scene, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said that “the situation has stabilized in the main areas” of the port.
He told State TV that the workers had resumed cargo containers and customs authorization.
Images of the news agency IRNA On Saturday he was rescuers and survivors walking along a large carpet boulevard of rubble after the explosion in Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 km south of Tehran.
Flames could be seen wrapping a truck and stained blood trailer from the side of a crushed car, while a helicopter dropped water into huge black smoke clouds that extend from behind the stacked shipping containers.
“The shock wave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged,” Tasnim The news agency reported.
Mourning
Citing local emergency services, State TV reported that hundreds of victims “have been transferred to nearby medical centers”, while the Provincial Blood Transfusion Center issued a call for donations.
Saturday is the beginning of the work week in Iran, which means that the port would have been busy with employees.
Three Chinese citizens were “slightly injured,” said China CCTV state station, citing her Bandar Abbas consulate.
Iranian President Masoud Peeshkian expressed his sympathy for the victims of the deadly explosion, adding that he had “issued an order to investigate the situation and causes.”
The United Arab Emirates expressed “solidarity with Iran” about Saudi explosion and Arabia sent condolences.
With the propagation of smoke and air pollution drowning throughout the area, all schools and offices in Bandar Abbas, the nearby capital of the province of Hormozgan, has been ordered that it closed on Sunday to allow the authorities to concentrate on the emergency effort, State TV said.
The Ministry of Health urged residents to avoid “even more notice” and to use protective masks.
The authorities declared three days of public mourning throughout the province.
The National Iranian Property Product Distribution Company said in a statement carried out by local media that the explosion “has no connection” with its facilities, without informing that there is no interruption of its work in Bandar Abbas.
The explosion occurred when the Iranian and American delegations met in Oman for high -level conversations about Tehran’s nuclear program, with both parties informing the progress.
Although Iranian authorities so far seem to treat the explosion as an accident, it is also found in the context of the shadow war with the regional enemy Israel.
According to him Washington PostIsrael in 2020 launched a cyber attack addressed to the port of Shahid Rajaee.
