At least 516 people were injured in a powerful explosion in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, according to Iranian state television.
Iran's customs said the explosion occurred at the Sina container terminal, which is affiliated with the Ports and Maritime Transport Organization.
Emergency services and Iranian first aid teams are at the scene and the number of injured has increased in the hours following the explosion.
Authorities have not yet revealed the cause of the explosion.
Mehrdad Hasanzadeh, a disaster management official, told Iranian state television that the explosion came from containers at the city's Rajaei port.
Footage on social media showed a large cloud of black smoke.
Other videos showed damage to buildings and vehicles. Several people were also seen in the area helping the injured and checking for damage to their properties.
Rajaei Port is primarily a container traffic site, but also has oil tanks and other petrochemical facilities.
Rajaei Port is located about 1,050 kilometers southeast of the capital Tehran, on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 percent of all oil traded globally passes.
Israel was accused of carrying out a major cyberattack on the same port in May 2020, causing chaos in shipping for several days after the port's computer system crashed./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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