Iran has witnessed similar incidents in recent years that have killed dozens.
An explosion caused by a gas leak at an Iranian coal mine has killed at least 51 people, state media said on Sunday, in one of the country’s deadliest work accidents in years.
The official Iranian news agency reported that “the number of workers killed has risen to 51” in the explosion that occurred in the Tabas mine in eastern Iran, which revised the previous death toll. which reached 30 peopleShe added that 20 other people were injured.
The agency said the explosion occurred at around 9 p.m. (1730 GMT) on Saturday, when there were about 70 workers at the site in South Khorasan province.
The report said a methane gas leak led to the explosion in two blocks of the mine owned by the private Iranian company Madanjoo.
State television broadcast footage of ambulances and helicopters arriving in Tabas to transport the injured to hospital.
Footage posted online by Iran’s official IRNA news agency showed the bodies of some of the victims, dressed in work clothes, being carried from the site on mining trolleys.
South Khorasan Governor Javad Ghanat told state television that rescue teams were working to recover the remaining bodies.
In remarks carried on state television before leaving for New York to attend the UN General Assembly, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian offered his condolences to the families of the victims and ordered an investigation into the deadly incident.
He said Bizishkian “Unfortunately, we have learned that an accident occurred in one of the coal mines in Tabas and a number of our citizens lost their lives. I offer my deepest condolences to their respected families.”
For its part, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said that search and rescue operations are underway in the mine, where some workers are still trapped.
The news agency reported that the workers were about 250 metres (820 feet) below the surface, isolated from rescuers by chambers filled with concentrated methane gas.
The agency quoted local prosecutor Ali Nasai as saying that “the accumulation of gas in the mine” made search operations difficult.
“The priority now is to provide assistance to the injured and rescue people from under the rubble,” Nasee added.
He added: “The negligence and error on the part of the concerned authorities will be dealt with” later.
Last year, an explosion at a coal mine in the northern city of Damghan killed six people, also likely the result of a methane gas leak, according to local media.
In May 2021, two workers were killed in a collapse at the same site, local media reported at the time.
An explosion in 2017 killed 43 miners at a mine in the northern Iranian city of Azadshahr, sparking anger at authorities.
Mineral-rich Iran has about 1.5 billion tons of proven coal reserves, state media say.
The Tabas mine covers an area of more than 30,000 square kilometers (about 11,600 square miles) and contains huge reserves of lignite and thermal coal, according to IRNA.
