Blast rocks part of Bandar Abbas port in southern Iran, poorly stored chemicals likely cause, says one official. Three days of mourning declared.
A huge blast probably caused by the explosion of chemical materials killed at least 18 people and injured more than 800 on Saturday at Iran's biggest port, Bandar Abbas, Iranian state media reported.
The explosion, which hit the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, occurred as Iran began a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman, but there was no indication of a link between the two events.
Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran's crisis management organisation, appeared to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee.