The death toll from the massive explosion that rocked Iran’s southern Shahid Rajaei Port on Saturday has risen to 28, while the number of injuries surpassed 1000, Iranian media quoted local authorities as saying.
On Sunday, a dense plume of smoke continued to rise from the Shahid Rajaei port in Bandar Abbas City as rescue teams operated throughout the night.
The schools in Bandar Abbas, located at a distance of 20 km from the blast site, have been closed on Sunday.
⚡️BREAKING
During the night, Iran successfully brought the fire caused by the explosion at the port of Bandar Abbas under control
28 people are confirmed dead and more than 800 injured
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A spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management organization has apparently attributed the explosion to the poor quality of storage of chemicals in containers at the strategic port in southern Iran.
“The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers,” Hossein Zafari told ILNA.
He noted that the director general of crisis management had already given warnings to the port authorities during visits and had cautioned against the possibility of danger.
Officials said although chemicals had likely caused the explosion, it was not still possible to ascertain the exact reason.
National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company has issued a statement, saying the oil facilities in the nearby yards were not affected by the blast.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for a probe into the incident. On Sunday, he traveled to the coastal province of Hormozgan to visit the location of the blast.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in Bandar Abbas to assess the situation at Shahid Rajaee port after the powerful explosion.
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The Iranian administration declared a public day of mourning on Monday and expressed solidarity with the families of the victims.
Source: Iranian media
