TEHRAN: A massive blast rocked a major port in southern Iran on Saturday, injuring more than 400 people, according to state media reports.
The cause of the blast remains under investigation. State television, quoting emergency officials, reported that “406 people have been injured, with hundreds transferred to nearby medical centres” in Hormozgan province, where the Shahid Rajaee port is situated.
“The explosion took place at a section of the Shahid Rajaee port dock, and firefighting operations are underway,” said Esmaeil Malekizadeh, a regional port official, speaking to state TV.
Located over 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) south of Tehran, Shahid Rajaee is Iran’s most modern container port, according to the official IRNA news agency. The port lies 23 kilometres west of Bandar Abbas and just north of the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply flows.
State television footage showed thick black smoke rising from the container area of the port. Emergency teams were rapidly deployed to the site.
First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has ordered an investigation into the cause of the explosion and the extent of the damage, ISNA news agency reported.
Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, head of Hormozgan’s crisis management authority, stated that the explosion was triggered by several containers stored at the wharf. “We are evacuating the injured and transferring them to nearby hospitals,” he added.
The explosion’s shockwave was powerful enough to be felt up to 50 kilometres away, Fars news agency reported. Residents described strong ground tremors even at a considerable distance from the port. Tasnim news agency noted that much of the port’s infrastructure suffered severe damage.
In a separate statement, the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company clarified that the blast was unrelated to any refineries, fuel tanks, oil pipelines, or distribution complexes. “Bandar Abbas oil facilities continue to operate normally,” the statement assured.
This rare and powerful blast follows one of Iran’s worst industrial disasters in recent years — a coal mine explosion in September that killed over 50 people in Tabas, leading to a nationwide mourning announcement.
