In Pictures

Gallery

Deadly explosion shakes Iran, hundreds hospitalised after port fire

Massive blaze at southern Iran’s Shahid Rajaei Port linked to chemical storage depot sparks devastation and chaos.

Deadly explosion shakes Iran, hundreds hospitalized after port fire
An injured man sits on the ground along a highway near the source of an explosion at the Shahid Rajaei Port dock southwest of Bandar Abbas in the Iranian province of Hormozgan. [Mohammad Moradi/IRNA via AFP]
Published On 27 Apr 2025

A massive explosion tore through Iran’s largest commercial port on Saturday, killing at least 25 people and wounding nearly 800 others, according to state media.

The blast occurred at Shahid Rajaei Port in southern Iran’s Bandar Abbas city near the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil output passes.

The port’s customs office said in a statement carried by state television that the explosion probably resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot.

Images from the official news agency IRNA showed rescuers and survivors walking along a wide boulevard carpeted with debris after the blast at Shahid Rajaei, more than 1,000km (620 miles) south of Tehran.

Flames engulfed a truck trailer and blood stained the side of a crushed car, while a helicopter dropped water on massive black smoke clouds billowing from behind stacked shipping containers.

Citing local emergency services, state TV reported that “hundreds have been transferred to nearby medical centres”, while the provincial blood transfusion centre issued a call for donations.

Advertisement

The explosion came several months after one of Iran’s deadliest work accidents in years. The coal mine blast in September, caused by a gas leak, killed more than 50 people at Tabas in the east of the country.

Saturday’s explosion came amid high-level Iran-US talks in Oman on Tehran’s nuclear programme, with both sides reporting progress.

Deadly explosion shakes Iran, hundreds hospitalized after port fire
People transport an injured man along a devastated boulevard following the explosion. [Mohammad Moradi/IRNA via AFP]
Advertisement
Deadly explosion shakes Iran, hundreds hospitalized after port fire
With choking smoke spreading across the area, schools and offices 23km (14 miles) away in Bandar Abbas, the Hormozgan provincial capital, have been ordered closed on Sunday. [Mohammad Moradi/IRNA via AFP]
Deadly explosion shakes Iran, hundreds hospitalized after port fire
Thick smoke continued to billow at the Shahid Rajaei section of the port on Sunday as rescue teams worked into the night. [Mohammad Moradi/IRNA via AFP]
Deadly explosion shakes Iran, hundreds hospitalized after port fire
The National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company issued a statement saying the blast did not affect oil facilities in the area. [Mohammad Moradi/IRNA via AFP]
Deadly explosion shakes Iran, hundreds hospitalized after port fire
“The explosion and fire in Shahid Rajaei Port have no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes and oil pipelines related to this company,” the company said. [Mohammad Moradi/IRNA via AFP]
Deadly explosion shakes Iran, hundreds hospitalized after port fire
Earlier, Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Administration official Esmaeil Malekizadeh said the explosion took place near the Shahid Rajaei Port dock. [Mohammad Moradi/IRNA via AFP]
Advertisement
Deadly explosion shakes Iran, hundreds hospitalized after port fire
Social media videos showed a huge plume of black smoke and a ball of fire rising from the area of the explosion. Other videos showed damage to buildings and vehicles. Several people were also seen around the area attending to the injured and checking the damage to the properties. [Mohammad Moradi/IRNA via AFP]
Deadly explosion shakes Iran, hundreds hospitalized after port fire
The blast comes at a sensitive time as Iranian officials continue to engage in talks with United States officials on a possible new nuclear deal. [Mohammad Moradi/IRNA via AFP]
Deadly explosion shakes Iran, hundreds hospitalized after port fire
A motorist gestures as he drives his vehicle with a broken windscreen through traffic away from the source of an explosion at the Shahid Rajaei Port dock southwest of Bandar Abbas in the Iranian province of Hormozgan. [Mohammad Moradi/IRNA via AFP]