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| One dead, two injured in blast at Iranian petrochemical plant | |
| 2021-05-26 | |
[JPost] This is the third such incident reported at a petrochemical plant in Iran since the beginning of the week.
One person was killed and two others were injured in an explosion and fire at a petrochemical plant in Asaluyeh in southern Iran along the coast of the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, in the third such incident in the past four days, according to Iranian media. The explosion occurred along an oxygen transmission line between the Mobin Petrochemical plant and Damavand Energy Company in Asaluyeh due to an "unknown issue," according to an update on the Damavand Energy Company's website. The fire was contained and extinguished. The director of public relations of the Mobin plant told Iranian media that the complex is still functioning without any issues. Video reportedly from the scene showed large amounts of smoke billowing from the scene. The two companies connected to the oxygen transmission line are responsible for producing electricity, among other services, in Iran. The incident comes as much of Iran suffers from widespread blackouts. Iranian officials have not been entirely clear about what is causing the blackouts, although Iranian media has reported that increased power usage due to crytocurrency mining and hot weather is one of the possible reasons. A delay in repairs on power plants in the country has also been blamed. The Iranian energy minister explained this week that the country's power plants haven't been able to keep up with demand and that cryptocurrency mining is a major energy consumer, according to the Iranian Fars News Agency. The minister stressed that a cyber attack was not behind the power outages. This is the third such incident reported at a petrochemical plant in Iran since the beginning of the week. Earlier this week incidents were reported at petrochemical plants at the Kangan Petro Refining Co. (KPRC) and in Shahin Shahr. The incident on Wednesday took place about 80 kilometers from where the explosion in Kangan was reported on Monday. According to Iranian media, a fire at the waste warehouse at KPRC was contained and extinguished within an hour and no operational units were damaged. No injuries were reported in the fire. The cause of the fire in Kangan still has not been reported and is still under investigation. The fire in Kangan came just a day after nine people were injured in an explosion at the Sepahan Nargostar chemical and fireworks factory in the city of Shahin Shahr in Iran’s Isfahan Province on Saturday night. The cause of the blast was said to also be under investigation. The Sepahan Nargostar factory is a producer of industrial and commercial explosive materials and is under the supervision of the National Security Council, according to IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency), the official government-controlled news agency. The company produces various types of fireworks and gunpowder, as well as nitrate, sodium, potassium, strontium, calcium, copper and barium, the report said. The Guardian reported on Sunday that the blast actually took place at the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA), which produces a variety of aircraft, including drones, for Iranian and pro-Iranian forces and is also located in Shahin Shahr. The explosion was linked to the shooting down of a drone by Israel near the Jordanian border last week, the report said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was an Iranian drone sent from either Iraq or Syria. The IDF collected fragments of the destroyed aircraft for further examination. The news of the fires and the explosions comes just days after Iranian officials reported major progress in negotiations on renewing the Iran nuclear deal. Last Thursday, Rouhani said all parties to the talks have agreed to lift “all major sanctions” on Iranian oil, petrochemicals, shipping, insurance and the central bank. Last year, a series of explosions and fires hit industrial sites across Iran, including a number of petrochemical plants. Iranian officials referred to most of the cases as incidents or accidents, although some reports have claimed that at least some of them involved foul play. Aging infrastructure in Iran has also been blamed for some of the incidents. | |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |
| #7 Said it before; every Iranian new build has an Israeli bomb in it and some guy in Tel Aviv has a phone with a bunch of "contacts" on it. Sometimes he lets his granddaughter play with it. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2021-05-26 23:57 |
| #6 Gotta wonder, if you're the average Iranian working stiff coping with life in an evil totalitarian theocracy, how hard are you gonna work to maintain their infrastructure? |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2021-05-26 12:31 |
| #5 Someone's working their way backward through Hamas' logistics. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2021-05-26 12:00 |
| #4 Where oh where are the Iranian farmers going to get their fertilizer now. |
| Posted by: Glort McCoy1941 2021-05-26 11:41 |
| #3 "chemical and fireworks factory" Now there's a combo you don't see every day. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2021-05-26 11:35 |
| #2 As much as I would like to blame mischief it is most likely Inshalla maintenance. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2021-05-26 10:09 |
| #1 Aging infrastructure in Iran has also been blamed for some of the incidents. That's all there is to it then. Dust yerself off and try again. |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2021-05-26 09:30 |