A fire broke out at a petrochemical complex in southern Iran on Wednesday, killing at least three people, state television reported.

“Given the scale of the incident, the number of injuries and deaths is likely to increase,” the broadcaster added, airing images of smoke rising from the Kaveh Petrochemical Complex in Bushehr province, 1,200 kilometres south of Tehran.

The governor of Dayyer county, Alireza Sajadi, told the television that the fire had broken out in the complex’s dedicated port but “has been contained”.

The director general of crisis management for Bushehr province, Kourosh Dehghan, said “an explosion and fire resulting from a welding operation” led to the casualties.

The fire comes little more than a month after a massive blast at Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas killed 58 people and caused extensive damage.

Officials blamed it on “negligence”.