Explosion kills 3 oil workers, injures more in southern Iran

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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – An explosion ripped through an oil pipeline and oil pumping station in southwest Iran on Tuesday, killing three oil workers and injuring four others, local media reported.

The explosion struck the Einkhosh field about 500 kilometers (310 miles) southwest of Iran’s capital Tehran, according to several news outlets, including the semi-official Mehr agency. The condition of the injured workers was not immediately clear. A widely circulated photo of the scene showed a corpse under a blanket next to a charred building that had apparently served as a resting place for workers at the pumping station.

Reports did not specify the cause of the explosion. However, such incidents are not uncommon in the country’s aging oil and gas infrastructure, raising questions about the safety of workers at sites. The facilities lack spare parts for repairs and suffer from poor maintenance as well as years of severe US sanctions.

The sweltering summer heat, now exceeding 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in some desert areas, has occasionally started fires.

Authorities said they would reroute oil from the affected field via pipelines to other facilities in oil-rich Khuzestan province in the south.

Last month, a petrochemical facility south of Tehran caught fire after temperatures in the city soared above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

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