Visuals showed choppers dropping water on shipping containers engulfed in dense smoke.
Smoke shrouded Iran's largest commercial port and surrounding areas as a fire following a major blast killed 40 people and injured more than 1,000 so far. Strong winds posed hindrances to firefighting operations.
Here Are The Key Takeaways:
- An explosion occurred at the Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran on Saturday, leading to a major fire the intensity of which increased amid winds.
- Thick, black smoke spread far and wide, resulting schools and office in Bandar Abbas, situated over 20 kilometres away, to be ordered shut.
- Local media aired visuals showing choppers dropping water on shipping containers engulfed in dense smoke, even as survivors walked down a debris-littered boulevard a short distance away.
- The powerful explosion was felt and heard about 50 kilometres away, Fars news agency reported. Further, the shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged, per Tasnim news agency.
- The cause of the fire is being investigated. State TV quoted the port's customs office as saying that the fire originated from the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot.
- The New York Times reported that a person with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity, said what exploded was sodium perchlorate, a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.
- Hundreds of people were transferred to nearby medical centres for treatment, as the provincial blood transfusion centre issued a call for donations.
- Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 kilometres south of Tehran, is Iran's most advanced container port, according to the official IRNA news agency. It is situated near the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of world oil output passes.
- Despite the explosion, the Bandar Abbas oil facilities continue to operate without interruption. The state-owned National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company said in a statement that the explosion "has no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes or oil pipelines".
- The explosion comes at the heels of Iranian and US delegations meeting in Oman for high-level talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, in which both sides reported progress.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
