More than 1, 000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Tehran, according to officials and state media, hundreds of people have been injured in a massive explosion and fire at Bandar Abbas, an Iranian port city.
The Sina container yard, which is associated with the Ports and Maritime Organization, was the site of the explosion, according to Iran’s customs ministry in a statement.
According to state media, Tohid Asadi, an Al Jazeera correspondent from Tehran, the number of injuries has increased to 406.
Initial reports about the site’s flammable material storage, according to Iranian state television, point to negligence.
The injured have been shifted to medical facilities, according to Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, director of Hormozgan province’s crisis management organization.
He claimed safety officials had previously issued safety warnings and had visited the incident’s location.
[Translation: Shahid Rajaei Port explosion at that time.]لحظه #انفجار در بندر شهید رجایی #بندرعباس pic. twitter.com/aal6HkQmHJ
Following the explosion, the National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company claimed that the explosion had no impact on the area’s oil facilities.
The company claimed that Shahid Rajaei Port’s explosion and fire have no connection to any refineries, storage facilities, distribution centers, or oil pipelines connected to this business.
Esmaeil Malekizadeh, a representative for the Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Administration, claimed the explosion occurred close to the Shahid Rajaei port dock earlier.
A ball of fire was visible rising from the explosion site in a large plume of black smoke from a social media video.
Buildings and vehicles were also damaged in other videos. In addition to checking the damage to the properties, several people were seen in the area looking after the injured.
The Shahid Rajaei port, which primarily handles container traffic, also has petrochemical facilities like oil tanks.
Israel is accused of carrying out a significant cyberattack on the same port in May 2020, which halted travel for days after the facility’s computer system was destroyed.
As Iranian officials continue to discuss a potential new nuclear deal with US officials, the explosion occurs at a sensitive time.
Source: Aljazeera
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