Iran Port Blast Death Toll reaches 40

Tehran:

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered a thorough survey on Sunday for the causes of a large explosion in a basic southern port that killed at least 40 people and injured over 1,000.

His instructions came after President Masoud Pezeshkian visited the explosion scene in the port of Shahid Rajaee near Hormuz’s strategic strait, where a fire was still on Sunday more than 24 hours after the explosion.

“Security and judicial officials are obliged to investigate in detail, reveal any negligence or intention, and follow in accordance with the regulations,” Khamenei said in a message transferred from state television.

With the spread of tobacco and air pollution throughout the area, all schools and offices of Bandar Abbas, the nearby capital of Hormozgan province, were ordered to allow the authorities to focus on emergency efforts, state television said.

The Ministry of Health called on residents to avoid going out “until the next notice” and use protective masks.

Arriving at Bandar Abbas, the president expressed his appreciation to the first correspondents, adding “we have come to see firsthand if there is something or any issue that the government can follow”.

“We will try to take care of the families who have lost their loved ones and will surely take care of the loved ones who have been injured,” he said.

A photo released by Pezeshkian’s office later showed him in the bed of a man who hurt in the explosion.

The Russian embassy said Moscow has sent multiple “experts” aircraft to help fight fire.

The New York Times reported a man with ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards of Iran, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss security issues, saying that what was exploding was sodium supercar – an important ingredient in solid rocket fuel.

Defense ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik later told state television that “it has not introduced or exported a cargo for military fuel or military use in the area.”

The customs office of the port said in a statement brought by state television that the explosion probably came from a fire that broke out in the storage warehouse of dangerous and chemical materials.

A regional emergency official said many containers had been exhausted.

“At present, 40 people have lost their lives as a result of injuries caused by the explosion,” Hormozgan Provincial Official Mohammad Ashouri told State Television.

The ISNA news agency, citing the provincial judiciary, gave the number of injuries to 1,242.

The head of Red Crescent Pirhossein Koolivand said that some of the injured were transported to the treatment of Tehran’s capital.

Aerial paintings released by the Iranian Presidency showed that black smoke was rising from the disaster zone on Sunday and was dragged to the sea.

“The fire is under control, but it’s not yet outside,” said one state television correspondent.

Also on the scene on Sunday, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said that “the situation has stabilized in the main areas” of the facility, Iran’s largest commercial port and workers had resumed loading containers and customs clearance.