195 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.

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 195 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.

He said that safety officials had previously visited the site of the incident, and issued safety warnings.

Earlier, Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Administration official Esmaeil Malekizadeh said the explosion took place near the Shahid Rajaei 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 damaged 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.

In May 2020, Israel has been accused of launching a major cyberattack on the same port, causing transport chaos for days after crashing the facility’s computer system.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.

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.