TEHRAN – A blast, caused by a gas leak at an Iranian coal mine, has killed at least 51 people, state media said yesterday.

This is one of the country’s deadliest work accidents in years.

“The number of dead workers increased to 51” in the explosion at the Tabas mine in eastern Iran, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported, revising an earlier death toll of 30.

It added that 20 other people were injured.
The explosion occurred at around 21h00 (17h30 GMT) on Saturday, when around 70 workers were present at the site in South Khorasan province, IRNA said.

The report states that a leak of methane gas led to the blast in two blocks of the mine, which is owned by private Iranian firm Madanjoo.
State TV broadcast footage of ambulances and helicopters arriving at Tabas to transport the injured to hospital.

Online footage carried by IRNA showed bodies of some of the victims, wearing their work uniform, carried out of the site on mining carts.
South Khorasan governor Javad Ghenaat told state TV that rescue teams were working to recover the remaining bodies.

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in remarks carried by state TV before departing for the UN General Assembly in New York, offered his condolences to the families of the victims, and ordered a probe into the deadly incident.

“Unfortunately, we learned that an accident occurred in one of the coal mines in Tabas, and a number of our compatriots lost their lives. I offer my condolences to their respected families,” he said.

His first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, spoke with cabinet members to ensure “emergency follow-up”, and support for the victims and their families, IRNA said.

Iran’s Red Crescent said search and rescue operations were underway in the mine, where some workers remained trapped.

IRNA said they were about 250 metres (820 feet) below the surface, cut off from rescuers by chambers that had filled up with concentrated methane gas.

“Gas accumulation in the mine” has made the search operations difficult, local prosecutor Ali Nesaei was quoted by IRNA as saying.
“Currently, the priority is to provide aid to the injured, and pull people from under the rubble,” he said.

He added that “the negligence and fault of the relevant agents will be dealt with” later on.

Last year, an explosion at a coal mine in the northern city of Damghan killed six people, also likely the result of methane leak according to local media.
In May 2021, two miners died in a collapse at the same site, local media reported at the time. – Nampa/AFP