On 24 July 1996 a serious accident occurred at the Gilan combined cycle fossil fuel power plant in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A worker unknowingly put an unshielded 185 GBq iridium-192 source used for industrial radiography in his pocket. As a result of exposure to the iridium source, the worker suffered from severe haematopoietic syndrome (bone marrow depression) and an unusually extended localized radiation injury requiring plastic surgery. This report gives a detailed account of the medical aspects of the accident and the lessons learned. Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Circumstances of the accident; 3. Medical aspects of the accident; 4. Physical reconstruction of exposures; 5. Dose estimation from clinical observations and laboratory investigations; 6. Conclusions and recommendations; Figures and photos.