The Iranian Interior Minister estimated on Monday that the huge explosion that occurred two days earlier in the country’s largest commercial port, which left 65 dead, was due to “negligence”.
More than 48 hours after the disaster, the gigantic fire seems to be on the way to being extinguished by firefighters: “Fire control operations are almost over,” said Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, director of crisis management for the province of Hormozgan, on state television on Monday in the evening.
The deflagration, heard tens of kilometers around, occurred on Saturday around a quay of the Shahid Rajai port, where a fifth of world oil production pass and 85 % of goods in Iran.
“The death toll in the tragic fire has reached 70 dead,” said Mohammad Ashouri, the head of the province of Hormozgan, quoted by the state media. The previous assessment reported 65 dead.
Authorities said more than a thousand people were injured. Most of them left the hospital after being treated there, according to Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, director of crisis management for the province of Hormozgan.
Only “120 injured are still hospitalized,” said Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, visiting the region.
“Some culprits have been identified and summoned […]. There have been breaches, including non-compliance with security measures and negligence, “he added.
Monday, firefighters are still trying to overcome the fire that has ravaged the site since Saturday. Thick black smoke continues to rise above the containers stacked at Port Shahid Rajaï, according to images of state television broadcast on Monday live.
After controlling fire, “we will enter the site cleaning phase and damage assessment,” said state television.
This strategic port is close to the big coastal city of Bandar Abbas, on the Strait of Ormuz, a thousand kilometers south of Tehran.
The Ministry of Health called on the 650,000 inhabitants of the city to stay at home “until further notice” due to possible toxic smoke. A call for blood donations was launched for the injured.
Hazardous Material
Rescue spokesman, Hossein Zafari, deplored the “strong winds” on Monday who make the operation “difficult” for firefighters.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately determined, but the Port customs indicated that a fire in the storage of dangerous and chemical materials could be the reason.
The Iranian supreme guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered the opening of an investigation into the incident, to determine if the drama was caused by “negligence” or if it were “intentional”.
The New York Timesquoting an anonymous source close to the guards of the Revolution, the ideological army of Iran, had previously affirmed that the explosion had been caused by sodium perchlorate, a substance entering the composition of solid fuel for missiles.
The Ministry of Defense said that there was “no cargo […] For military use in the fire zone “at the time of the explosion.
According to the Washington PostIsrael launched a cyber attack in 2020 against the Shahid Rajai port.
The thesis of a sabotage has not yet been mentioned by Tehran for the explosion on Saturday.
The explosion coincided with Oman’s holding of crucial talks on the Tehran nuclear program between Iran and the United States, enemies for four decades.
