Key Points
- Fifty-one people have been killed in an explosion at an Iranian coal mine.
- State media said a methane gas leak led to the blast in two of the mine’s blocks, where nearly 70 people were working.
- Twenty people have reportedly been injured, and Iran’s Red Crescent said search and rescue operations were underway.
A blast caused by a gas leak at an Iranian coal mine has killed at least 51 people, state media said, in 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 IRNA state news agency reported on Sunday, revising an earlier death toll of 30.
It added that 20 other people were injured.
The explosion occurred at around 9pm on Saturday local time (3.30am Sunday AEST), when around 70 workers were present at the site in South Khorasan province, IRNA said.
Iran’s Red Crescent said search and rescue operations were still underway in the mine, where some workers remained trapped. Source: AAP / Iranian Red Crescent Society
According to the report, 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 shared 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.
President offers condolences
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, in remarks reported by state TV before departing for the UN General Assembly in New York, offered his condolences to the families of the victims and ordered an investigation 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,” Pezeshkian 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.
Nearly 70 workers were in the sections of the mine where the explosion occurred. Source: AAP / Iranian Red Crescent Society
According to IRNA, they were about 250m 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,” Nesaei said.
He added that “the negligence and fault of the relevant agents will be dealt with” later on.
A history of deadly mine incidents
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.
A blast in 2017 killed 43 miners in the northern Iranian city of Azad Shahr, triggering anger toward Iranian authorities.
The Tabas mine covers an area of more than 30,000 square kilometres and holds mass reserves of coking and thermal coal, according to IRNA.
It is “considered the richest and largest coal area in Iran”, IRNA said.
