The number of injuries suffered by the explosion in southern Iran on Saturday jumped to 400, the state-owned IRNA news agency reported.
IRNA quoted Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for the National Emergency Organization of Iran.
The explosion occurred at the port of Rajaei outside Bandar Abbas, the main facility for container transport in the Islamic Republic, which handles about 80 million tons of goods each year.
Social media video shows black smoke rolling after the explosion. Others showed glass blowing out from a building a few miles away in the center of the explosion.
Authorities have not yet made a reason for the explosion. Industrial accidents occurred in Iran, especially in its aging petroleum facilities, which are striving to win parts under international sanctions. But Iran’s state television specifically excludes any energy infrastructure that causes or damages in the explosion.
Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu by Getty Images
Provincial disaster management official Mehrdad Hasanzadeh told Iran state television that first responders are trying to reach the area while others are trying to evacuate the site.
Hasanzadeh said the explosion came from containers at the city’s Rajaei port without details. State TV also reported that the building collapsed due to the explosion, despite no other details being provided immediately.
Rajaei Port is located about 652 miles southeast of the Iranian capital. TehranIn the Hormuz Strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf passes through, 20% of all oil transactions.
At the same time, Iran and the United States negotiated Oman Tehran’s rapid nuclear plan According to U.S. officials and Iran’s state television, Saturday.
