Several killed in explosion at Iran oil refinery

Bandar Abbas refinery is one of the largest in Iran

The aftermath of a fire at an oil refinery in Bandar Abbas, Iran, in July last year. Reuters

Several people were killed and others were injured in an explosion at the Bandar Abbas oil refinery in southern Iran on Thursday, state media reported.

A fire was reported at the site shortly before noon local time, according to the state-run Irna news outlet.

No other details were immediately available, with officials yet to comment on the incident.

Industrial accidents are common in Iran. In December, two oil refineries caught fire in the space of a week.

Four people were injured in a fire at an Isfahan refinery, with at least one person taken to hospital suffering from severe burns, Iran International reported. Days earlier, a fire destroyed the newly inaugurated Birjand oil refinery in South Khorasan province.

The incident caused at least $14 million in damages, Khorasan's deputy governor told the state-affiliated Iranian Students' News Agency.

In September, one person was killed and four others were wounded in a gas leak at the Bandar Abbas refinery, one of Iran’s largest. A blaze at the Aftab Oil refinery complex last year also injured eight firefighters.

In 2021, one person was killed after a pipeline explosion near the Gulf coast. In the same year, a blast at a plant producing explosive materials in central Iran killed nine.

Outdated technology is a contributing factor to the number of incidents, although Iran has also blamed Israel for some attacks on oil refineries.

Israel has denied attacking Iranian oil complexes.