Fatal Fire at Shazand Petrochemical Plant; Officials Say Main Cause of Fire Still Unclear

News agencies in Iran have reported a fatal fire at the Shazand Petrochemical Complex (Arak) in the afternoon of Monday, December 20.

Hamid Ghiassi, director general of crisis management at the Central Province Governorate, told ISNA news agency that one person was killed and two others were injured in this fire.

Ghiassi told ISNA that both injured individuals have been transferred to hospitals, and one of them has burns covering approximately 40 percent of their body.

He said that one of the “not particularly large” tanks at the Shazand Petrochemical Complex had a leak, and while employees of the complex were attempting to prevent the leak and fix the defect, a fire broke out.

No further explanation has been released regarding why the fire occurred during the attempt to prevent the leak.

According to the director general of crisis management at the Central Province Governorate, the main cause of the fire is under investigation. He stated that this fire has been completely extinguished.

In recent years, multiple fires have occurred at various facilities including infrastructure and military installations in Iran, with some speculation suggesting sabotage. However, lack of maintenance and inadequate care of facilities have also not been ruled out as contributing factors to these fires.

Source: Voice of America