4 killed, over 500 wounded in Iran port blast

Tehran, April 26 (IANS) At least four people were killed and 516 others injured on Saturday after a massive explosion rocked Shahid Rajaee Port in the city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran's Hormozgan province, local media reported.

The wounded have been transferred to nearby medical centers, Babak Yektaparast, spokesman for the country's Emergency Medical Services Organisation, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the semi-official Fars news agency.

Yektaparast added that 90 hospital beds in Shiraz, the capital city of the neighbouring Fars province, have been ready for the hospitalisation of those potentially wounded in the incident.

According to China's Consulate General in Bandar Abbas, three Chinese citizens sustained minor injuries in the explosion. They are now in good condition after receiving medical treatment.

In an earlier report, the official news agency IRNA said the blast occurred at a gas tank in the port, sending a huge column of smoke into the sky and causing extensive damage to nearby buildings and cars.

In remarks to Fars later, Hossein Zafari, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Organisation, said the blast was caused by chemical materials in a container at the port.

Shahid Rajaee, located 1000 kilometres south of the capital Tehran, is the most advanced container port in Iran, and 23 kilometres west of Bandar Abbas, the Hormozgan provincial capital, and north of the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of world oil output passes.

Meanwhile, the Iranian government's spokeswoman, Fatemeh Mohajerani, warned against any "hasty speculations" about the cause of the incident before relevant authorities complete the investigations. She added that what had been confirmed so far was that there were containers, probably with chemical materials, at a corner of the port.

Rapid reaction and rescue teams have been dispatched to the scene, and all port activities have been suspended, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, adding that the number of injured is likely increasing.

The explosion occurred amid the third round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States in Oman, although the cause of the blast remains unknown.

The discussions are being led by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, with technical experts from both sides also engaging in parallel meetings.

The objective is to forge a new agreement aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — an accusation Tehran firmly denies — in exchange for easing severe economic sanctions.

--IANS

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