Massive blast and fire has been reported in the Iran’s Zarand Iranian Steel Company plant ( Zisco) which is owned by the Middle East Mines & Mineral Industries Development Holding Company (MIDHCO). The factory management has not issued any information about the cause of the incident. As per an Iranian official, the blaze was brought under control and there was no report of casualties.
Ali Sadeghzadeh, the governor of Zarand, told the Iranian Fars news agency that the spillage of molten material caused a fire. “Sudden overflow of molten material in the blast furnace caused fire and smoke and no explosion occurred in the kiln or other parts of the plant,” he said. He also said the equipment was imported. Sinosteel is a major technology supplier to the Zarand plant and has supplied both mechanical and electrical equipment installed at the plant.
The initial information on the blast is available only through a video being circulated online. The video allegedly filmed on incident shows reams of sparks emerging from the factory building as it is engulfed in a massive fire.
The company has been in the process of cast iron production in limited quantities and was expecting to increase the production at mass scale.
The Zarand Iranian Steel Company along with its parent MIDHCO, is among the companies sanctioned by the United States on January 2021. “MIDHCO is being designated for owning, controlling, or operating Sirjan Iranian Steel and Zarand Iranian Steel Company, entities that are part of the steel sector of Iran,” states the US sanction document.
Other steel factories owned by MIDHCO are Sirjan Steel and Butia Steel.