TEHRAN (Sputnik) – At least four people have died as a result of an explosion at the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, the head of Iran’s rescue service, Babak Mahmoudi, said on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the Tasnim news agency reported, citing the country’s medical services, that the number of those injured in the explosion at the port in southern Iran had risen to 516.

«We have statistics, but we have been confirmed [the deaths] of four people,» Mahmoudi said on air of Iranian television.

A powerful explosion rocked Bandar Abbas on Saturday afternoon. Media reported that the explosion had occurred on the pier as a result of a fuel tank catching fire. The explosion shattered windows within a radius of several miles. The Iranian Interior Ministry has ordered an investigation.