Iran port explosion linked to missile fuel shipment; death toll climbs, 750 injured | 10 updates
A massive explosion rocked Iran’s largest commercial port, Shahid Rajaee, on Saturday, leading to a major fire that has so far left 14 dead and 750 injured. The blast, whose cause remains unknown, struck near the vital Strait of Hormuz—a key passage for around 20% of global oil shipments, as reported by AFP.
Here are the top ten updates:
1. A massive explosion and fire tore through southern Iran’s Shahid Rajaei port on Saturday, reportedly linked to a shipment of chemical material used in missile propellant, killing eight and injuring around 750, as reported by the Associated Press,
2. Hours after the blast, helicopters continued to douse the flames from above, as the incident unfolded the same day Iran and the US held their third round of talks in Oman over Tehran’s accelerating nuclear program.
3. “The intensity of the fire in Shahid Rajaee Port has increased and it is possible that the fire could spread to other areas and containers,” state TV said late Saturday.
4. Strong winds were complicating efforts to extinguish the flames, a reporter for the broadcaster said. Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 kilometres south of Tehran, is Iran’s most advanced container port, according to the official IRNA news agency.
5. Images released by IRNA captured the aftermath of the blast, showing rescuers and survivors navigating a debris-strewn boulevard. Flames engulfed a truck trailer, a crushed car was marked with blood, and a helicopter hovered overhead, dropping water on towering plumes of black smoke rising behind stacked shipping containers.
6. Citing local emergency services, state TV reported that “hundreds have been transferred to nearby medical centres”, while the provincial blood transfusion centre issued a call for donations. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed sympathy for the victims of the deadly blast, adding he had “issued an order to investigate the situation and the causes”. He said Momeni would go to the area to look into the incident.
7. Speaking later at the scene, Momeni told state TV: “All resources from other cities and Tehran have been dispatched… and we hope to be able to extinguish the fire in the coming hours.”
8. Three Chinese nationals were “lightly injured”, China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing its Bandar Abbas consulate. Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, head of the province’s crisis management authority, told state TV that “the cause of this incident was the explosion of several containers stored in the Shahid Rajaee Port wharf area”.
9. The explosion was so powerful that it was felt and heard about 50 kilometres away, Fars news agency reported. “The shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged,” Tasnim news agency reported.
Also Read: ‘Meaningless’: Iran minister rejects direct negotiations with US over nuclear programme
The shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged.
10. The United Arab Emirates expressed “solidarity with Iran” over the explosion and Saudi Arabia sent condolences. The state-owned National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company said in a statement carried by local media that the explosion “has no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes or oil pipelines”.
(With inputs from agencies)
Source link
If you are the content owner and do not wish for your posts to appear here, please contact us at contact@buzzcn.com to request removal.
