At least 281 people were injured after a large explosion rocked Shahid Rajaee port in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, state media reported.
"The source of this incident was the explosion of several containers stored in the Shahid Rajaee Port wharf area. We are currently evacuating and transferring the injured to medical centres," a local crisis management official said.
Citing the spokesperson, state TV reported that at least 281 people had been injured. It was not yet clear whether there were any fatalities.
Efforts were ongoing to extinguish a significant fire, with the port's customs saying that trucks were being evacuated from the area and that the container yard where the explosion occurred likely contained "dangerous goods and chemicals."
State TV said "negligence in handling flammable materials was a contributing factor" in the explosion. Oil facilities were not affected by the blast.
"The explosion and fire in Shahid Rajaee Port have no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes and oil pipelines related to this company," the National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company said.
The large blast shattered windows within a radius of several kilometres.
