At least 47 people were injured today in a powerful explosion in the port of "Shahid Rajae" in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas, world agencies reported, citing Iranian media.
The explosion occurred at the same time that the third round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States on the Iranian nuclear program began in the capital of Oman - Muscat, Reuters notes.
"Several containers stored on one of the docks of the port of "Shahid Rajae" exploded. "We are currently evacuating people and transporting the injured to medical facilities," a local emergency services official told Iranian state television.
The Tasnim news agency reported that port operations had been suspended to extinguish the fire, and that given the large number of personnel at the port, there could be casualties.
The explosion was heard within a radius of several kilometers, according to Iranian media.
Reuters recalls that in 2020, the port's computer network was the subject of a cyberattack, which led to chaos in traffic on the water and land routes for supplies to the "Shahid Rajae".
This is one of Iran's main commercial ports, noted Agence France-Presse. It is located about a thousand kilometers south of the capital Tehran.