FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – The death toll from a massive explosion at a port in Iran’s Hormozgan province on Saturday has risen to 40, with more than 1,000 people injured, state media reported Sunday.
Officials said 197 of the wounded remained hospitalized.
The cause of the blast, which triggered a large fire at the port, has yet to be determined, according to Hormozgan Governor Mohammad Ashouri Taziani, who spoke to Iran’s IRIB news agency.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited the site on Sunday to assess the damage and meet with some of the injured, his office said.
The government declared Monday a day of national mourning, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani announced on social media platform X.
Hossein Sajedinia, head of the National Disaster Management Organization, told IRIB that firefighting teams from five provinces were working to contain the blaze, which was fueled by flammable materials, including pitch and chemicals stored in some containers.
Despite the fire, operations at the port’s wharfs have resumed, state news agency IRNA reported. Sajedinia said the fire was expected to be fully contained within hours.