DUBAI: A huge blast on Saturday likely caused by the explosion of chemical materials stored at Iran's biggest port, Bandar Abbas, killed at least four people and injured more than 500, Iranian state media reported. Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran's crisis management organisation, appeared to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee.
"The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers," he said. "Previously, the Director General of Crisis Management had given warnings to this port during their visits and had pointed out the possibility of danger," Zafari said.
Citing local emergency services, state TV reported that at least 516 people were injured and "hundreds have been transferred to nearby medical centres". "Unfortunately, at least four deaths have been confirmed by rescuers," said the head of the Red Crescent Society's Relief and Rescue Organisation, Babak Mahmoudi.
State TV had quoted Esmaeil Malekizadeh, a regional port official, as saying authorities were working to put out a fire at the facility. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed sympathy for the victims of the deadly blast, adding he had "issued an order to investigate the situation and the causes", dispatching Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni to the area to look into the incident. Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 kilometres south of the capital Tehran, is the most advanced container port in Iran, according to the official IRNA news agency.
An Iranian government spokesperson, however, said that although chemicals had likely caused the blast, it was not yet possible to determine the exact reason. Iran's official news channels aired footage of a vast black and orange cloud of smoke billowing up above the port in the aftermath of the blast and an office building with its doors blown off and papers and debris strewn around.
Bandar Abbas is Iran's largest port and handles most of its containers in transit. The blast shattered windows within a radius of several kilometres and was heard in Qeshm, an island 26 kilometres south of the port, Iranian media said. The semi-official Tasnim news agency posted footage of injured men lying on the road being tended to amid scenes of confusion. State TV earlier reported that poor handling of flammable materials was a "contributing factor" to the explosion. A local crisis management official said that the blast took place after several containers stored at the port exploded. As relief workers tried to put out fires, the port's customs officials said trucks were being evacuated from the area and that the container yard where the explosion occurred likely contained "dangerous goods and chemicals." Activities at the port were halted after the blast, officials said.
Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, head of Hormozgan province's crisis management authority, said that "the cause of this incident was the explosion of several containers stored in the Shahid Rajaee Port wharf area". "We are currently evacuating and transporting the injured to nearby medical centres," he said. The explosion was so powerful that it could be felt and heard about 50 kilometres away, Fars news agency reported, with residents saying they could feel the ground shake even at a distance. "The shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged," Tasnim news agency reported.
A series of deadly incidents have hit Iranian energy and industrial infrastructure in recent years, with many, like Saturday's blast, blamed on negligence. They have included refinery fires, a gas explosion at a coalmine and an emergency repairs incident at Bandar Abbas killed one worker in 2023. Oil facilities were not affected by the blast on Saturday, Iranian authorities said. The National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company said in a statement that it had "no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes and oil pipelines." — Reuters
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