A gas explosion in a coal mine in Iran’s South Khorasan Province killed at least 51 people and injured 20, Iran’s state media said on Sunday.
According to the IRNA agency, the director general of the provincial crisis management department, Mohammad-Ali Akhondi, indicated that the accident was caused by a methane gas explosion in two blocks of the mine on Saturday night.
At least 51 workers suffocated due to the rapid release of methane and carbon monoxide, he said, adding that the death toll is expected to rise as rescue operations are still ongoing.
There were 69 workers in the blocks at the time of the explosion in the Tabas mine, a city in the central-east of Iran.
“76% of the country’s coal is provided from this region, and around 8 to 10 big companies are working in the region, including Madanjoo Company,” the governor of South Khorasan Province Ali Akbar Rahimi told state TV on Sunday.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered an investigation into the incident, according to the head of his administration’s Information Council. Meanwhile, ministers of industry and labour have headed to Tabas to hold the necessary meetings and take the required measures.
