According to a report by Al Jazeera, at least 40 people were killed and around 1,000 others were injured in a major blast on Saturday at Shahid Raji port near Bandar Abbas in Southern Iran’s hormogen province on Saturday.
After the explosion, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for a thorough investigation, urged security and judicial authorities to identify any negligence.
In a message made by the state’s television, Khamenei said, “Security and judicial officials are bound to investigate, highlight any negligence or intentions and follow according to the rules.”
Meanwhile, President Masaud Peseshkian on Sunday visited the survivors of the blast hospital, and first thanked the respondents and promised government support for the families of the deceased and the injured.
Arriving at the site, Peseshkian first thanked the respondents and said, “We have come first to see hands if anything or any issue can follow the government. We will try to take care of the families who lost their loved ones, and we will definitely take care of the dear people who were injured,” Al Jazira said.
After the tragedy, Iran has declared a national day of mourning on Monday.
Shahid Raji is a major feature for container shipment, and it handles 70 million tonnes of cargo every year, including oil and general shipping.
Earlier, the minister of Iran’s interior Eskander Momeni said that six people remained missing as firefighters continued efforts to control the explosion, despite the firefighters facing challenges like high winds.
The cause of the explosion has not yet been revealed. A government spokesperson, Fatmeh Mohzerani, said it would take some time to find the cause of the explosion, “but what has been determined so far is that the containers were stored in a corner of the port that probably included chemicals that had exploded.”
He further said, “But it is difficult to find out the reason until the fire extinguishes the fire.”
Iranian officials have declared an emergency in monkey Abbas to protect the population amid a significant increase in air pollution. (AI)