The death toll from a massive explosion at a port near the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas has reached 40. The Saturday explosion and the subsequent fire left more than 1,000 people wounded, of whom 197 were hospitalised. The cause of the incident has not been determined yet. The Iranian government’s spokeswoman, Fatemeh Mohajerani, in a post on social media, said the administration had declared a day of national mourning today.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited the port yesterday to assess the circumstances of the blast and visited some of the injured. Footage from closed-circuit cameras at the scene showed a limited fire starting near several containers in an area of the port, which then expanded and caused the significant explosion nearly 90 seconds later. Despite the incident, the port’s wharfs have resumed operations and cargo handling.
