Explosion at Iran’s Largest Port Kills Five, Injures Over 700

World

A powerful explosion followed by a massive fire at Iran’s largest commercial port, Shahid Rajaei Port, has left at least five people dead and over 700 injured, according to Iranian authorities.

Mehrdad Hasanzadeh, director of Hormozgan Province’s Crisis Management Organization, shared the latest casualty figures during an interview on state television on Saturday. Earlier reports had cited four fatalities and more than 500 injuries.

Located more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Tehran, Shahid Rajaei Port witnessed the devastating blast, which authorities have attributed to negligence in the storage of flammable materials. The Customs Administration of Iran later blamed a "stockpile of hazardous goods and chemical materials stored in the port area" for the explosion, though it did not provide further details.

Hasanzadeh said that the injured were swiftly transferred to medical facilities for treatment and noted that safety officials had previously inspected the site and issued safety warnings before the incident.