At least 195 people injured in explosion in Iran

(Patria) - At least 195 people were injured in a powerful explosion and fire that hit the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, more than 1,000 kilometers south of Tehran, officials announced and state media reported.

The Iranian Customs Administration stated that the explosion occurred on Saturday in the Sina container yard, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ports and Maritime Organization.

The director of the crisis management organization for Hormozgan province, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, told state television that all the injured were transferred to health facilities. He also emphasized that security services had previously inspected the incident site and issued safety warnings.

Earlier, an official from the Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Administration, Esmaeil Malekizadeh, stated that the explosion occurred near the Shahid Rajaei terminal.

Footage released on social media shows a huge cloud of black smoke and a fireball rising from the explosion site. Other footage shows damaged buildings and vehicles, while citizens helped the injured and checked property damage.

The Shahid Rajaei port primarily handles container traffic and also contains oil tanks and other petrochemical facilities, Al Jazeera reported.