A methane leak has caused an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran, killing at least 30 people and injuring dozens more, state media reported.
TEHRAN, Iran — A methane leak has caused an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran, killing at least 30 people and injuring 17 others, Iranian state media reported Sunday. Twenty-four other miners are believed to be trapped inside.
According to the report, the deaths occurred in a coal mine in Tabas, about 540 kilometers southeast of the capital, Tehran.
Authorities sent rescue workers to the scene after the blast on Saturday night. About 70 people were working at the scene at the time of the explosion. State television later said 24 people were likely trapped inside.
Provincial governor Mohammad Javad Qenaat said on state television that 30 miners had been killed and 17 injured.
Iran’s new reformist president, Masoud Pezeshkian, who is preparing to travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, ordered that all efforts be made to rescue those stranded and help their families. He also said an investigation into the incident had been opened.
Iran, an oil producer, is also rich in minerals. The country consumes about 3.5 million tons of coal a year, but extracts only 1.8 million tons from its mines. The rest is imported, often consumed by the country’s steel mills.
This is not the first disaster to hit Iran’s mining industry. In 2013, 11 workers were killed in two separate mining accidents. In 2009, 20 workers were killed in multiple incidents. In 2017, an explosion in a coal mine killed at least 42 people.
Lack of safety standards and inadequate emergency services in mining areas are often blamed as the cause of deaths.
