Four killed, over 500 injured in major blast at Iran port

A powerful explosion ripped through a key port in southern Iran on Saturday killing four people and injuring more than 500 state media saidAlthough the cause of the blast was not immediately clear the customs office at the port said in a statement carried by state TV that it probably resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazmat and chemical materials storage depotState media reported a massive explosion at Shahid Rajaee the countrys largest commercial port located in Hormozgan province on Irans southern coastFootage broadcast on state TV showed thick columns of black smoke billowing from the port area where many containers are stored with helicopters deployed to fight the fireCiting local emergency services state TV reported that at least 516 people were injured and hundreds have been transferred to nearby medical centresUnfortunately at least four deaths have been confirmed by rescuers the head of the Red Crescent Societys Relief and Rescue Organisation Babak Mahmoudi later told the broadcasterState TV had quoted Esmaeil Malekizadeh a regional port official as saying authorities were working to put out a fire at the facilityIranian 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 incidentShahid Rajaee more than 1000 kilometres 620 miles south of the capital Tehran is the most advanced container port in Iran according to the official IRNA news agencyIt is located 23 kilometres west of Bandar Abbas the Hormozgan provincial capital and north of the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of world oil output passesThe explosion was so powerful that it could be felt and heard some 50 kilometres away Fars news agency reported with residents saying they could feel the ground shake even at a distance from the Containers exploded Mehrdad Hassanzadeh head of Hormozgan provinces crisis management authority told state TV that the cause of this incident was the explosion of several containers stored in the Shahid Rajaee Port wharf areaWe are currently evacuating and transporting the injured to nearby medical centres he saidThe 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 distanceThe shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged Tasnim news agency reportedThe stateowned National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company said in a statement carried by local media that the explosion at Shahid Rajaee Port has no connection to refineries fuel tanks distribution complexes or oil pipelinesIt added that Bandar Abbas oil facilities are currently operating without interruptionThe rare explosion comes several months after one of Irans deadliest work accidents in yearsThe coal mine blast in September caused by a gas leak killed more than 50 people in Tabas in Irans eastSaturdays explosion also came as delegations from Iran and the United States were meeting in Oman for highlevel talks on Tehrans nuclear programmeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params