Explosion at port in Iran’s Bandar Abbas kills 4, injures over 500

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A powerful blast on Saturday killed at least four people and injured more than 500, who were passing through a major port in southern Iran, official media said.

“Unfortunately, at least four deaths have been confirmed by rescue workers,” Babak Mahmudi, head of the Red Crescent Society’s Relief and Rescue Organization, told State TV.

Government media reported a “mass blast” at Shahid Raji, the country’s largest trading port in Hormuzgan Province, on the southern coast of Iran.

Footage broadcast on state television showed coarse columns of black smoke from the port area, where many containers are safe, helicopters have been deployed to fight the fire.

Referring to local emergency services, State TV reported that at least 516 people were injured and “hundreds of people have been shifted to nearby medical centers”, which was revised on the previous tools.

“The blast took place in a part of Shahid Rajai Port Dock, and we are extinguishing the fire.”

The Customs Office at the port said in a statement by State TV that the cause of the blast was probably a fire that exploded at the storage depot and chemical materials.

According to the ARNA News Agency government agency, Shahid Raji, more than 1,000 km (620 miles) from the capital Tehran, is Iran’s most modern container port.

It is located 23 km west of Bander Abbas, the north of the provincial capital of Hormuzgan, and north of the Strait Harmos, through which the fifth production of the world’s oil is passed.

According to the ISNA News Agency, emergency services rapidly sent the reaction teams to the port, the first vice president, Mohammad Raza ASF, ordered an investigation to determine the cause of the blast and to assess the damage limit.

“The cause of the incident was a blast of several containers stored in Shahid Raji Port Warf area,” Mehdud Hassan Zada, head of the Crisis Management Authority of Hormuzgan Province, told State TV.

“We are currently evacuating the injured and taking them to nearby medical centers,” he said.

The Persian news agency reported that the explosion was so powerful that it could be felt 50 km away and could be heard, residents said they could feel a stir on the ground even at the distance.

According to the Tasnim News Agency, “Shock View was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged.”

The official national Iranian oil product distribution company said in a statement by local media that “the explosion at Shahid Raji Port has nothing to do with refineries, fuel tanks, distribution premises or oil pipelines”.

It added that “Bander Abbas oil facilities are currently working without interference”.

This rare explosion has occurred several months after Iran’s deadliest work in the years.

More than 50 people were killed in a coal mine blast in September due to gas emissions.

The explosion also came when a delegation of Iran and the United States delegation was meeting for high -level talks on Tehran’s nuclear program in Oman.

Iranian President Masood Pazishkian expressed sympathy with the victims of the port blast, and sent the interior minister to monitor the investigation.

“Expressing deep regret and sympathy for the victims of the incident in Hormuzgan province, I ordered an investigation into the situation and the cause of the incident,” said Pizeshkian on X, adding that Interior Minister Escander Momini would go to the area for investigation.

Pakistan expresses solidarity with Iran

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over the explosion at Iran’s Bandar Abbas Port.

He offered condolences to the Iranian government and the people and prayed for the immediate recovery of the injured.

The Prime Minister said, “Pakistan stands with Iran at this time of grief.”

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran, Mohammad Madassir Tipu, expressed solidarity with the Iranian people and the government in an X post during this test time.

The ambassador said, “I am very surprised to know about the blast at Shahid Rajai Port in Bandar Abbas, with reports of hundreds of wounded. Our thoughts and prayers are with the wounded, with which we want to recover soon. Pakistan stands firmly with Iran in this tragic moment.”