- TEHRAN — At least 25 people were killed and 800 others injured in a huge
explosion at a port on Saturday in Iran's southern province of Hormozgan, media
reported Sunday.
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- The exact cause of the incident has not been determined yet,
Xinhua reported, quoting official news agency IRNA.
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- The explosion occurred at the Port of Shahid Rajaee in the
provincial capital Bandar Abbas, after which rescue teams were immediately
dispatched to the scene, and all port activities were suspended, the
semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
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- In remarks to the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday,
Jalal Maleki, spokesman of the Tehran Fire Department, said the massive fire
resulting from the blast had been almost contained, although there were still
scattered flames, which he described as "not worrisome."
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- Ahmad Pouyafar, governor of Bandar Abbas, announced on
Saturday that all educational centres across the city would be closed on Sunday
due to the explosion and consequent air pollution.
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- Hossein Zafari, spokesperson for the National Disaster
Management Organization, told Fars that chemical materials in a container at
the port may have caused the blast.
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- However, the Iranian government's spokeswoman, Fatemeh
Mohajerani, warned against any "hasty speculations" about the cause
of the incident before relevant authorities complete the investigations.
-
- What had been confirmed so far was that there were
containers, probably with chemical materials, at a corner of the port, she
added.
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- In a post on X, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian extended
sympathy to the victims of the explosion, announcing that he had issued a
directive for the investigation of the blast and its cause.
