The firefighters are still trying, Monday, April 28, to overcome the huge fire that has ravaged the largest port of Iran for three days, after the explosion on Saturday which left at least 46 dead and more than a thousand injured, according to Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), citing a local official.
Thick black smoke continues to rise above the containers stacked at Port Chahid Rajaï, according to images of state television broadcast on Monday morning live. After controlling fire, “We will enter the site cleaning phase and damage assessment”announced state television.
The explosion, heard tens of kilometers around, occurred on Saturday around noon (local time) on a quay of Port Chahid Rajaï, where 85 % of goods in Iran pass. This strategic port is close to the big coastal city of Bandar-E Abbas, in the Strait of Ormuz, where a fifth of world oil production passes, a thousand kilometers south of Tehran.
Call to blood donations
The cause of the explosion was not immediately determined, but customs said it was probably coming from a fire that had declared itself in a deposit of dangerous and chemical materials.
The Iranian supreme guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered the opening of an investigation to determine if the drama was caused by a ” neglect “ or if he was “Intentional”. The president, Massoud Pezeshkian, went to hospitals in the neighboring town of Bandar-E Abbas on Sunday to visit the injured.
The Ministry of Health called the 650,000 inhabitants of the city to stay at home “Until new order”. A call for blood donations was launched for the injured.