ANOTHER fire breaks out at a power station in Iran following a string of explosions across nuclear facilities and weapons bases which have left 19 dead
- A fire broke out at a power station in the southwestern city of Ahvaz in Iran
- The fire is the most recent in several fires and explosions at important sites
- One of the explosions, at a medical clinic in northern Tehran, killed 19 people
A fire at a power station in Iran today is the latest in a string of fires and explosions all over the country including one at a medical clinic that left 19 people dead.
The fire broke out at the Zergan power plant in the city of Ahvaz in southwestern Iran causing a transformer in the station to explode and ignite the plant.
The fire caused partial electricity outages before it was put out by fire fighters, who spent two hours fighting the blaze, and electricity was restored.
Mohammad Hafezi, the power plant’s health and safety manager, told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) the cause of the fire was under investigation.
A fire at a power station in the city of Ahvaz in southwestern Iran is the most recent in a string of fires and explosions all over the country
The fire affected one of the station’s transformers and caused partial electricity outages before it was put out and electricity was restored
Meanwhile, also on Saturday, a unit of the Karoon petrochemicals plant in south-east Iran, near the Gulf, had a chlorine gas leak, the Iranian oil ministry’s news agency reported.
The leak sickened 70 workers with injuries from chlorine inhalation but most of them were released after receiving medical treatment.
The fire and the leak are the most recent of several dangerous incidents affecting important sites in Iran.
Only two days before, a fire broke out at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, which has been hit in sabotage attacks in the past.
But Iran said that no one was injured and that the fire only damaged an industrial shed.
The fire at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility happened two days before the fire at the Zergan power plant in the city of Ahvaz
Pictured: The aftermath of the fire at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility after a fire broke out on Thursday
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said the fire could have been an attempt to sabotage work at the plant, which has been involved in activities that breach an international nuclear deal.
Iran is enriching uranium at a quicker rate following the collapse of a deal signed in Paris.
In the same week, on Tuesday, 19 people were killed in an explosion at a medical clinic in the north of the capital Tehran, which an official said was caused by a gas leak.
Pictured: First responders carry away an injured person on a stretcher at the scene of an explosion at the Sina At’har health centre in the north of Iran’s capital Tehran northern Tehran on June 30, 2020
Pictured: Footage of a powerful explosion at a clinic in northern Tehran. The blast at Sina At’har health centre caused damage to buildings in the vicinity and sent a plume of thick black smoke into the night sky, state television reported, June 30, 2020
Last month, on June 26, there was an explosion near the Parchin military and weapons development base in the east of Terhran.
Authorities said the explosion was caused by a leak in a gas storage facility in an area around the base.
A Kuwaiti newspaper has accused Israel of being responsible for two of the explosions claiming the country is trying to set Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme back.
The Al-Jareeda daily reported that an unnamed senior source said that the two explosions were because of an Israili cyber-attack at the Natanz nuclear plant on Thursday morning.
They also claim stealth Israeli fighter jets bombed another site in Parchin believed to house a missile production facility on June 26.
The Israeli government have not confirmed the Al-Jareeda daily’s accusations and have remained quiet on the reports.