The explosion sent a huge plume of thick, gray smoke from the Shahid Rajaee part of the port complex, according to videos geolocated by CNN, with the government saying the blast was likely linked to chemicals being stored.
Iran’s Minister of Interior Eskandar Momeni said six people remain missing as firefighters continue to work to extinguish the blaze, despite challenges posed by high winds, Iranian media reported.
No cause has been given for the explosion.
A government spokeswoman, Fatemeh Mohajerani, said it would take some time to establish the cause, “but so far what has been determined is that containers were stored in a corner of the port that likely contained chemicals which exploded.”
She added: “But until the fire is extinguished, it’s hard to ascertain the cause.”
Iran’s National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said the explosion at the port was not related to the refineries, fuel tanks, or oil pipelines “associated with the company in that area.”
This came after Iranian official media reported that the blast occurred after a fuel tanker at the port “exploded for unknown reasons.”
The incident prompted Iranian authorities to declare a state of emergency in the city of Bandar Abbas to safeguard citizens amid a “significant rise in air pollution.”
The Ministry of Health has mobilised health teams and implemented emergency measures to protect public health.
Citizens are advised to stay indoors, avoid outdoor activities, and keep windows closed, according to official Iranian media.
A video distributed by the Mehr news agency showed surveillance footage of the moment of the explosion, which appears to have occurred in a warehouse at the port. Other footage showed helicopters dropping water at the site of the fire ignited by the explosion.
Debris was spread over a wide area and many buildings at the port complex were badly damaged, according to state media.
Windows within a radius of several kilometres were shattered, they said.
Some reports said people were trapped in the wreckage of a building that was reduced to rubble.
The region’s governor, Mohammad Ashouri Taziani, said injured people were being transferred to Bandar Abbas medical centres.
The port has been closed and maritime operations suspended, according to state media.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered an investigation into the causes of the incident.
He wrote on X that the interior minister had been sent to the region to “examine the dimensions of the accident.”
“After receiving initial reports and analysing the possible causes of the incident,” Pezeshkian emphasized the need to conduct “a comprehensive assessment of the causes of the incident,” as soon as possible to prevent “the recurrence of such incidents in the future.”
State broadcaster IRIB said the explosion took place in the chemical and sulfur area of the port.
The incident has shocked the country and many were seen on Iran’s state-run Press TV lining up at a health centre to donate blood for the injured.
Shahid Rajaee is a large facility for container shipments, covering 2,400 hectares.
It handles 70 million tons of cargo annually, including oil and general shipping. It has nearly 500,000 square meters of warehouses and 35 shipping berths.
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