An explosion took place at an Iranian gas storage facility in an area that houses a sensitive military site near the capital Tehran, according to a defense ministry spokesperson.
Iranian Defense Ministry spokesman Davoud Abdi told state television on Friday that the explosion occurred at a gas storage facility in a “public area” of Parchin.
He added that firefighters put out the fire. Investigations were underway to determine the cause of the incident. No victims were reported, he added.
The tank exploded around midnight Thursday, and the Fars news agency said “several social media users reported seeing an orange light” in the east of the Iranian capital.
First video report of a massive red light explosion around Tehran, heard by many residents. Reports of a military outpost over there. #Iran pic.twitter.com/lQT4CPFLUC
– Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) June 25, 2020
Fars said the flash of light was caused by “an explosion from an industrial gas tank” near a facility belonging to the defense ministry.
The Mehr news agency said a “terrible sound” was heard.
“The cause of this sound and light is not yet known, but was clearly heard in Pardis, in Boumhen and its environs” of the Iranian capital, Mehr reported.
Al Jazeera was unable to immediately verify the alleged videos of the explosion that went viral on Twitter.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
