Four dead and 500 injured after « massive explosion » in the Iranian port system – Diepresse.com

An explosion in one of the most important ports of Iran killed at least four people on Saturday and more than 500 others were injured. The head of the aid organization Roter Halbmond called the number of death victims in the afternoon after the Iranian state media had previously reported 516 injuries. The explosion met Shahid Radschee’s container port, the country’s largest trading port. At first nothing became known.

« Unfortunately, at least four deaths were confirmed by the rescue workers, » said Babak Mahmudi, head of the red crescent moon, Iranian state television. In turn, state television reported, citing the rescue workers of more than 500 injuries and hundreds of people who were brought to hospitals in the area.

Number of victims rose every hour

After the explosion, the Iranian media reported higher and higher number of victims every hour. Iranian President Massud Peseschkian expressed his sympathy for the victims. The container port of Shahid Radschee is located in the province of Hormusgan more than a thousand kilometers south of the capital Tehran and 23 kilometers from the provincial capital of Bandar Abbas. TV pictures showed black smoke columns above the port area.

According to the Fars news agency, the shock wave of the explosion was noticeable at around 50 kilometers away. Due to the pressure wave, « most of the port buildings were badly damaged, » reported the news agency Tasnim. Emergency services fought the flames. « We are in the process of extinguishing the fire, » said the port of the port, Ismael Malekisadeh, state television.

Refineries not affected

The head of the crisis management authorities, Mehrdad Hassansadeh, said that several containers had exploded in the port. « We are in the process of evacuating the injuries and bringing them to surrounding clinics. » According to the ISNA news agency, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Resa Area ordered investigations into the cause of the explosion and the extent of the damage.

The explosion is not in connection with « oil refineries, fuel tanks, distribution systems or oil pipelines », it was said in a statement by the state company that is spread by local media for the distribution of products in the oil industry. Accordingly, the refineries in Bandar Abbas were in operation without interruption.

Container terminal important Iranian economic zone

The port city on the Persian Gulf is one of the most important economic zones in the country, in which more than a third of the Iranian Seehandel is handled. With the country’s largest container terminal, the port city of Seehandel maintains 80 internationally known ports and 21 line shipping companies.

In September last year, one of the most serious accidents of work had occurred in Iran for years. At that time, more than 50 people were killed in the explosion in a coal mining in the eastern Tabas. (APA/AFP)