Social media videos show a huge plume of black smoke and a ball of fire rising from the area of the explosion
\n Bandar Abbas
\nA massive explosion and fire at Iran\u2019s largest commercial port has killed at least four people and injured more than 500 others, authorities say.
\n\u201cUnfortunately, at least four deaths have been confirmed by rescuers,\u201d Babak Mahmoudi, head of the Red Crescent Society\u2019s Relief and Rescue Organisation, said on the state television on Saturday.
\nThe Iranian state media reported that at least 516 people were injured at the explosion at Shahid Rajaei port, located more than 1,000km (620 miles) south of the capital, Tehran.
\nIranian state television said initial reports indicate negligence in the storage of flammable materials at the site, while Tehran Times reported that the explosion of several containers was the initial cause of the blast.
\nMehrdad Hassanzadeh, director of Hormozgan province\u2019s crisis management organisation, told state television that the injured have been transferred to medical facilities.
\nHe said that safety officials had previously visited the site of the incident, and issued safety warnings.
\nNational Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company issued a statement saying oil facilities in the area were not affected by the blast.
\n\u201cThe explosion and fire in Shahid Rajaei Port have no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes and oil pipelines related to this company,\u201d the company said.
\nEarlier, Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Administration official Esmaeil Malekizadeh said the explosion took place near the Shahid Rajaei port dock.
\nSocial media videos showed a huge plume of black smoke and a ball of fire rising from the area of the explosion.
\nOther videos showed damage to buildings and vehicles. Several people were also seen around the area attending to the injured and checking the damage to the properties.
\nShahid Rajaei port mainly handles container traffic and also has oil tanks and other petrochemical facilities.
\nIn May 2020, Israel was accused of launching a major cyberattack on the same port, causing transport chaos for days after crashing the facility\u2019s computer system.
\nThe blast comes at a sensitive time as Iranian officials continue to engage in talks with United States officials on a possible new nuclear deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Social media videos show a huge plume of black smoke and a ball of fire rising from the area of the explosion Bandar Abbas A massive explosion and fire at Iran\u2019s largest commercial port has killed at least four people and injured more than 500 others, authorities say. \u201cUnfortunately, at least four deaths have been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-474949","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n