A massive explosion was reported at the Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran, local media reported on Saturday, leaving four people dead and over 750 injured.
“Unfortunately, at least eight deaths have been confirmed by rescuers,” the head of the Red Crescent Society’s Relief and Rescue Organisation, Babak Mahmoudi, told.
Emergency services, said that 516 people were injured and many were taken to nearby hospitals after an explosion in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan, where the Shahid Rajaee port is located. The blast happened around 12:30 am local time on Saturday.
Shahid Rajaee port is a key port about 15 kilometers southwest of Bandar Abbas, on the northern edge of the Strait of Hormuz. Officials believe the explosion was likely caused by chemical materials that were not stored properly. Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management organization, said that warnings about the dangerous conditions had been given earlier during inspections of the port.
The explosion happened while Iran was holding its third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman, but there is no sign that the two events are connected.
Emergency teams were quickly sent to the scene, and port operations were stopped for a while so that security and emergency forces could manage the situation.
