Suspected chemical blast at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port kills at least 25, injures hundreds

A huge blast, probably caused by the explosion of chemical materials, killed at least 25 people and injured almost 800 on Saturday at Iran’s biggest port, Bandar Abbas, Iranian state media reported.

Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management organisation, appeared to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee.

“The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers,” he told Iran’s ILNA news agency.

“Previously, the Director General of Crisis Management had given warnings to this port during their visits and had pointed out the possibility of danger,” Zafari said.

However, an Iranian government spokesperson said that although chemicals had likely caused the blast, it was not yet possible to determine the exact reason.

President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation of the incident and sent to the site his interior minister, who said efforts were continuing to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to other areas.

Iran’s official news channels aired footage of a vast black and orange cloud of smoke billowing up above the port in the aftermath of the blast, and an office building with its doors blown off and papers and debris strewn around.

Moreover, windows were shattered within a radius of several kilometres and was heard in Qeshm, an island 26 kilometres (16 miles) south of the port, Iranian media said.

As for oil facilities, Iranian authorities indicated that they were not affected by the blast.

Located near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Rajaee port is Iran’s biggest container hub, handling a majority of the country’s container goods, according to state media.