2025 Bandar Abbas port explosion
Smoke billowing after the explosion | |
| Date | 26 April 2025 |
|---|---|
| Time | 12:20 IRST (UTC+03:30) |
| Location | Port of Shahid Rajaee, Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan, Iran |
| Coordinates | 27°7′27″N 56°4′3″E / 27.12417°N 56.06750°E |
| Type | Gas substances explosion |
| Cause | Fire |
| Deaths |
|
| Non-fatal injuries |
|
On April 26, 2025, an explosion and fire at Shahid Rajaee port near Bandar Abbas, Iran, left at least 40 dead and over 1200 injured. The incident, which occurred around 12:20 p.m. local time, started in several containers likely holding hazardous materials like sodium perchlorate, used in missile fuel. It happened amid negotiations between the United States and Iran over Iran's ballistic missile program.
Overview
Shahid Rajaee Port, Iran's largest, handles about 80 million tons of goods annually and is a key hub for the country’s maritime trade. Located near the Strait of Hormuz, about 23 kilometers west of Bandar Abbas, it is next to facilities operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The explosion occurred while Iranian and U.S. delegates were meeting to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. Before the talks, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that security services were on high alert due to previous sabotage and assassination attempts.[1][2]
Casualties and emergency response
At least 25 people were killed in the explosion,[3] while more than 800 others were injured.[4] Six people were also reported missing.[5] The Chinese consulate in Bandar Abbas said three Chinese nationals sustained light injuries.[6] Emergency services, including the Iranian Red Crescent Society, dispatched rapid response teams to the scene.
Related pages
- Largest artificial non-nuclear explosions
- 2015 Tianjin explosions, a series of explosions at the Port of Tianjin in China that killed 173 people and injured 798
- 2022 Sitakunda fire, a fire and explosions at a container depot in Bangladesh that killed at least 47 people and injured around 450
- PEPCON disaster, an ammonium perchlorate-related explosion
- List of explosions#2000s
- 2025 Isfahan explosion
References
- ↑ "At least 280 injured after 'massive' blast at southern Iran port". Daily Sabah. 2025-04-26. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
- ↑ "Nearly 281 injured in massive blast in south Iran port". Onmanorama. 2025-04-26. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
- ↑ "Death toll in suspected chemical blast at key Iran port rises to 25". Al Jazeera. 27 April 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ↑ Gambrell, Jon (27 April 2025). "A massive explosion at an Iranian port linked to missile fuel shipment kills 18, injures some 800". AP News. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ↑ Mao, Frances (27 April 2025). "Huge blast at key Iranian port kills 25 and injures 800". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ↑ "Eighteen killed, fires still burning in huge Iran port blast". France 24. 27 April 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2025.