The huge explosion and subsequent blaze at a key Iranian port have killed 18 people and left 800 wounded so far, state television said Sunday, updating the death toll from 14. "The fire is under control but not extinguished; the operation continues," said a state TV correspondent at the scene, with thick black smoke visible behind him.
The explosion, which hit the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, occurred as Iran began a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman, but there was no indication of a link between the two events.
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, the exact reason could not yet be determined.
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.
According to state media, located near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Shahid Rajaee port is Iran’s biggest container hub, handling most of the country’s container goods.
The blast shattered windows within a radius of several kilometres and was heard in Qeshm, an island 26 kilometres (16 miles) south of the port, Iranian media said.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency posted footage of injured men lying on the road being tended to amid scenes of confusion.
State TV earlier reported that poor handling of flammable materials was a "contributing factor" to the explosion. A local crisis management official told state TV that the blast took place after several containers stored at the port exploded.
As relief workers tried to put out fires, the port's customs officials said trucks were being evacuated from the area and that the container yard where the explosion occurred likely contained "dangerous goods and chemicals". Activities at the port were halted after the blast, officials said.
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