The Iranian port hit with a massive explosion, hurting at least 400 people

The number of wounded of an explosion on Saturday in a port in southern Iran increased to 400, the Irna news agency reported.

Irna cited Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for the National Emergency Organization of Iran, as giving the figure.

The explosion occurred in the port of Rajaei on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas, an important installation for container shipments for the Islamic Republic that manages about 80 million tons of goods per year.

The social networks videos showed black and undulating smoke after the explosion. Others showed blushed glasses from the buildings away from the epicenter of the explosion.

The authorities have not yet offered reason for the explosion. Industrial accidents occur in Iran, particularly in their largest oil facilities that fight for access to pieces under international sanctions. But the Iranian state television specifically ruled out any energy infrastructure as a cause or damaged in the explosion.

Mehrad Hasanzadeh, a provincial official of Disaster Management, told Iranian State TV that the first to respond were trying to reach the area while others tried to evacuate the site.

Hasanzadeh said the explosion came from containers in the port of Rajaei in the city, without elaborating. State TV also reported that there had been a collapse of the building caused by the explosion, although no other immediate details were offered.

The port of Rajaei is about 652 miles southeast of the capital of Iran, Tehranin the Hortuz Strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all negotiated oil passes.

Meanwhile, Iran and the United States maintained negotiations in Oman about The nuclear program that Tehran advances quickly On Saturday, according to a US official and Iranian state television.

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• Iran