Fires continue to rage at key Iran port as explosion death toll rises to 46

Al Jazeera-April28th2025

Firefighters continue to battle raging fires at Iran’s largest commercial port, Bandar Abbas, two days after a massive explosion killed dozens and injured more than 1,000 people, Iranian state media report, as questions linger as to the blast’s cause.

“The death toll in the Shahid Rajaei Port fire has reached 46,” the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday, quoting Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, the crisis management director for Hormozgan province, where the port is located. Most of the injured had since been released after treatment, he added.

Only “120 wounded are still in hospital”, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, who is visiting the affected area, told state TV on Monday.

The blast took place on Saturday at Shahid Rajaei Port in Iran’s south near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes.

Iran’s state TV showed images of firefighters dousing the flames, saying the damage would be assessed after the fire is fully brought under control.

Heavy charcoal-black smoke continued to billow over low flames at part of the site, above which a firefighting helicopter flew, pictures from the Iranian Red Crescent showed.

What caused the blast?

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, but the port’s customs office said it likely resulted from a fire that broke out at a depot storing hazardous chemical materials.

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