1 killed, 14 wounded in explosion at building in S. Iran

TEHRAN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and 14 others wounded in an explosion at an eight-story residential building in Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday afternoon, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The incident was reported at about 14:10 local time (1040 GMT), and rescuers were immediately sent to the scene, Tasnim quoted Mokhtar Salahshoor, head of the provincial Red Crescent Society, as saying.

He added that the cause of the incident was yet to be determined.

In remarks to the semi-official Fars news agency, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, director general of the Hormozgan province's crisis management department, said firefighters and rescuers are at the scene investigating the cause and dimensions of the incident.

According to Fars, the explosion has severely damaged the first to third floors and shattered the windows of all other stories as well as nearby buildings. It added that more than 10 vehicles parked near the building sustained damage. ■