Iran reports one killed, several injured in oil refinery blaze
Iranian media says furnace caught fire while being repaired, no major damage caused to facility at key Bandar Abbas port
A fire at the Aftab oil refinery in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas killed at least one person and injured three, state media said Thursday.
A furnace at the refinery caught fire as it was being repaired at about 11 a.m. local time, state TV reported. A 38-year-old man was killed, and the three people injured were taken to hospital, where they are receiving treatment, state TV also said. One of the three is said to be in critical condition.
The facility did not sustain any major damage, and the injured were deemed to be in stable condition after being taken to the hospital, semi-official Fars News Agency said.
The port at Bandar Abbas is one of Iran’s most important sites for imports and exports.
Similar fires have been reported from time to time at the port, which is located at the mouth of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as well as at other oil facilities in Iran.
Authorities blamed similar incidents on decades of sanctions on Iranian industries, as well as hot summer weather in past years.
#Iran News in Brief
Explosion & fire reported at Aftab Oil Refinery in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran. Several casualties reported. Details unfolding.https://t.co/N6o9QBiTc0 pic.twitter.com/pq6vNCVcAh— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 7, 2024
In July, a fire at the same refinery injured eight firefighters after two oil tanks in a tank farm caught fire.
In mid-February, two explosions hit gas pipelines in the southwest and south of Iran, causing no casualties but disrupting supplies to at least three provinces.
The Islamic Republic accused Israel of being behind the February blasts. The New York Times reported soon afterward that Israel was indeed responsible for the attacks, citing two Wetsern officials and a military strategist affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
A Western official told NYT that the strike was largely symbolic, causing minimal harm and being easy to repair, but sent a message that Israel can cause significant damage. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to comment at the time.
