80 injured after ‘massive’ explosion at Iran’s port city of Bandar Abbas
Scores of people have been injured following a massive explosion and fire at the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, more than 1,000km (620 miles) south of capital Tehran, according to officials and state media, Al Jazeera reports.
Iran’s customs authority said in a statement that Saturday’s explosion occurred in the Sina container yard, which is affiliated with the Ports and Maritime Organization.
According to the Iranian emergency service, at least 80 people were injured in the explosion.
Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, director of Hormozgan province’s crisis management organisation, told state television that the injured have been transferred to medical facilities.
Earlier, Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Administration official Esmaeil Malekizadeh said the explosion took place near the Shahid Rajaee port dock.
Social media videos showed a huge plume of black smoke and a ball of fire rising from the area of the explosion.
Other videos showed damage to buildings and vehicles. Several people were also seen around the area attending to the injured and checking the damage to the properties.
Shahid Rajaei port mainly handles container traffic and also has oil tanks and other petrochemical facilities.
As written before, an explosion at a fireworks warehouse in India killed at least 21.