BANDAR ABBAS -- Eight people were injured in a gas tank explosion inside an Iranian boat which was traveling from Iran's Bandar Rig on the Persian Gulf to Dubai, a customs official told IRNA here Monday.

The explosion happened five miles off the Iranian Siri island on Sunday and all the injured were rushed to hospital on the island, except for two people who were flown by helicopters to Bandar Lengeh because of their severe injuries, the Head of Customs Office here, Gholamhossein Akhgar, said.

He did not comment on the cause of the explosion.

The boat sank in the Persian Gulf waters, the official added.

According to a Head of Ports and Shipping Organization in Hormozgan Province, Moslem Kashfi, 26 vessels have sunk in the Persian Gulf off the province's waters since September, in which three people were killed, four injured and two others went missing.