Officials are suspected of the chemicals exploding at Bandar Abbas port, Iran’s largest container hub.
As casualties continue to increase, the fire continues to burn the day after a massive explosion ripped apart Iran’s biggest commercial port in Bandar Abbas.
The death toll from the massive explosion on Saturday at Shahid Rajaei Port rose to 28, Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand said on Sunday that the state media had updated previous figures as firefighters continued their efforts to put out the fire.
“Unfortunately, 28 people have died so far,” Couriband added in a video published on the official Iranian government website that some of the more than 1,000 people injured in Shahid Rajaee Portblast have been moved to the capital Tehran for treatment.
On Sunday, a video posted by Tasnim showed a helicopter floating around thick black smoke and trying to help put out the fire.
Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian expressed sympathy for the victims of the fatal explosion, adding that he “issued an order to investigate the situation and the cause.”
The country’s national emergency agency told Tasnim that at least five victims have been moved to Shiraz city for further treatment.
“The fire is in control, but it hasn’t been out yet,” reported a state television correspondent from the site about 20 hours after the explosion.
The Entekhab News website said the National Crisis Management Agency had issued 80% of the fires, adding that most of those taken to medical facilities for treatment have been discharged.
Three Chinese citizens have been “misinally injured,” Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing Consulate Bandar Abbas.
As choking smoke and air pollution spread throughout the region, all schools and offices in Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan, were ordered to close on Sunday to allow authorities to focus on emergency efforts, state TV reported.
Hazardous chemicals
The explosion took place near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, from which a fifth of the world’s oil output passed.
The port’s customs office said in a statement that it was carried by state television and that the explosion was likely due to a fire that erupted in a storehouse of dangerous and chemical materials.
A person with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Security Forces Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the New York Times that the explosion chemicals were sodium perchlorate, a major component of the missile’s solid fuel.
The explosion was so powerful that it felt like it was about 50 km (30 miles) away, the Fur’s news agency reported.
Images from the official IRNA news agency showed rescuers and survivors walking along the main streets with debris after the explosion at Shahid Rajaei, more than 1,000 km (620 miles) south of Tehran.
Speaking later on the scene, Home Minister Escandar Momeni told the state television: “All resources from other cities and Tehran have been dispatched.”
The explosion comes months after one of Iran’s most fatal work accidents over the years.
A September coal mine explosion caused by a gas leak killed more than 50 people in Tabas, the east of the country.
The incident occurred when Iran and US delegations met in Oman for high-level consultations on Tehran’s nuclear program, with both sides reporting their progress.