The number of people killed in an explosion at Iran’s biggest container port has risen to 65, with over 1,200 injured, according to state media.
The blast, at the Shahid Rajaei container hub near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, happened on Saturday as Iran held a third round of talks with the US in Oman about Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Shipping containers burned, goods inside were badly damaged and the explosion was so powerful that windows several miles away were shattered, reports said.
Iranian Red Crescent rescuers work at the site of the blast. Pic: Reuters
Huge explosion shakes port in Iran
Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the blaze and it has now been put out, Iran’s interior minister Eskandar Momeni announced on Monday.
The updated death toll comes as a new satellite image reveals the scale of the explosion.
The port last Wednesday. Pic: Planet Labs PBC via AP
A satellite photo taken today shows the epicentre of the explosion. Pic: Planet Labs PBC via AP
The blast disintegrated a building next to the blast site and shredded most of another building to the west. The new image also appears to show two craters measuring some 50 metres across.
Port activities resumed in unaffected parts of Shahid Rajaei on Sunday, authorities said. But Iran’s state media warned on Monday it could take two weeks to remove containers damaged by the explosion.
Chemicals at the port were suspected to have worsened the blast, but the exact cause of the explosion was not clear.
Iran’s defence ministry denied international media reports that the explosion may be connected to the mishandling of solid fuel used for missiles.
The reports were “aligned with enemy psyops [psychological operations]”, according to a ministry spokesperson, who told state TV the blast-hit area did not contain any military cargo.
Firefighters work to extinguish the blaze. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
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According to the Associated Press, British security company Ambrey said that the port in March received sodium perchlorate, which is used to propel ballistic missiles and the mishandling of which could have led to the explosion.
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The Financial Times previously reported two Iranian vessels had shipped from China enough of the ingredient to propel up to 260 mid-range missiles.
It was reportedly to help Tehran replenish stocks after its missile attacks on Israel in 2024.
Iran’s military has sought to deny the delivery of sodium perchlorate from China.
Iran’s state-run Irna news agency reported on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed several emergency aircraft to Bandar Abbas to provide help.
