Toll Rises to 28, Over 1,000 People Injured in Iranian Port Explosion

Fire blazed on Sunday, more than 24 hours after a massive explosion tore through Iran's largest commercial port, killing at least 28 people and leaving more than 1,000 others injured, according to the Red Crescent.

- Agence France-Presse

TEHRAN:

The blast occurred on Saturday at Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of world oil output passes.

With choking smoke and air pollution spreading throughout the area, all schools and offices in Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan province around 23 kilometers east, were ordered closed on Sunday to allow authorities to focus on the emergency effort, state TV said.

The health ministry urged residents to avoid going outside "until further notice" and to use protective masks.

Russia provides help Russia's embassy said Moscow was sending "several aircraft carrying specialists" to help fight the blaze, "at the request of Iranian partners".

The New York Times quoted a person with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, as saying that what exploded was sodium perchlorate—a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.