Firefighters in Iran battled raging fires on Monday at the country’s largest commercial port, two days after a massive explosion killed at least 46 people, state TV reported.
The blast took place on Saturday at Shahid Rajaee Port in Iran’s south near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes.
“The death toll in the Shahid Rajaee Port fire has reached 46,” the official IRNA news agency reported, quoting Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, the crisis management director for Hormozgan province.
Officials had said more than 1,000 people were injured but Hassanzadeh said most have now been released after treatment.
Only “138 wounded are still in hospital,” he said.
Iran’s state TV showed images of firefighters dousing the flames, and said the damage will be assessed after the fire is fully brought under control.
Heavy charcoal-black smoke continued to billow over low flames at part of the site, above which a firefighting helicopter flew, pictures from the Iranian Red Crescent showed.
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion but the port’s customs office said it likely resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered a probe into the incident to determine if there was “any negligence or intent”.
YAHOO /AFP