The number of dead in a strong explosion in the largest port of Iran, Bandar Abbas, rose to at least 28, with more than 800 injured, the country’s state media said on Sunday (27), while firefighters worked to completely extinguish the fire.
Saturday’s explosion (26) took place in the Shahid Rajae section of Porto, Iran’s largest container center, shattering windows within a radius of several kilometers, ripping metal strips of containers and severely damaging goods, remained state.
The case occurred while Iran performs one.
It is suspected that chemicals in Porto have fueled the explosion, but the exact cause was not explained and the Iran’s Ministry of Defense denied reports from the international media that the explosion may be linked to the incorrect solid fuel handling used in missiles.
A ministry spokesman told state TV that the reports were “aligned with enemy psychological operations”, stating that the area hit by the explosion contained no military burden.
Associated Press cited British security company Ambrey, which said Porto received sodium perclorate, used to boost ballistic missiles and whose incorrect handling could have led to the explosion.
The Financial Times newspaper reported in January the boarding of two Iranian ships from China containing sufficient amount of the ingredient to supply up to 260 medium range missiles, helping Tehran keep their stocks after.
Mortal explosion
Black smoke columns climbed over the scene later this Sunday (27), and pieces of twisted metal and wreckage were scattered around the explosion.
In the early afternoon, local time, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society informed state media that fire was 90% extinguished and authorities said port activities had been resumed in unaffected areas of Shahid Rajae.
Iran’s crisis management organization said that among the people who received treatment for the injuries, 190 were still being treated in medical centers on Sunday morning.
A spokesman for the country’s crisis management organization appeared on Saturday (26) to attribute the explosion to the inadequate storage of chemicals in containers in Shahid Rajae, adding that previous alerts had highlighted potential safety risks.
Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani warned against “premature speculation”, stating that final evaluations would be released after investigations.
Negligence has often been pointed out as guilty in a series of fatal accidents that have reached the Iranian energy and industrial infrastructure in recent years.
Among them, fires in refineries, an explosion of gas in a coal mine and emergency repair in Bandar Abbas that killed a worker in 2023.
Iran has attributed some other cases to Israel, which has carried out attacks on Iranian soil against in recent years and last year.
