The number of casualties from the explosion at the port in Bandar Abbas, a southern city in Iran, is rapidly increasing.
According to major local news outlets such as Tasnim and Mehr on the 27th (local time), authorities in Hormozgan Province reported that at least 25 people were killed and 800 injured in the accident that occurred the previous day at Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas.
Eskandar Momeni, Iran's Minister of Interior, stated that as of the morning of April 27, about 80% of the fire had been brought under control. However, efforts to extinguish remaining flames and rescue people are still ongoing. The Hormozgan provincial government has declared a three-day mourning period until April 29.
The explosion occurred at around 11:55 a.m. the previous day. Coincidentally, the accident took place on the same day that Iran began its third round of nuclear negotiations with the United States in Oman. However, any connection between the two events has not yet been confirmed.
Major international media reported that the explosion was so powerful that the blast could be heard even from about 50 kilometers away. It has also been reported that a significant number of port buildings were damaged.
Shahid Rajaee Port is Iran's largest port, located in the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about 20% of the world's crude oil shipments. The port processes approximately 80 million tons of cargo annually.
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