Iran’s Coal Mine Explosion claimed at Least Fifty Lives

One of the deadliest mining accidents in Iran’s history occurred on Sunday when a coal mine explosion in the country’s east claimed the lives of at least 51 miners and injured over a dozen more, according to officials. Hours after the explosion, some workers were still unaccounted for.

On Saturday night, a blast occurred in a coal mine located near Tabas, around 540 kilometres (335 miles) southeast of Tehran, the capital. By Sunday, the bodies of their coworkers, all covered in coal dust, were being hauled up by mine vehicles, and sobbing miners stood beside them.

At the moment of the explosion, about seventy individuals were employed. Later, 17 people were said to be thought to be trapped down a 700-meter (2,300-foot) tunnel at a depth of 200 meters (650 feet), according to state media. But the numbers fluctuated throughout Sunday regarding the disaster in the rural area with some reports suggesting the death toll was higher.

The explosion was attributed by authorities to a methane gas leak. Although contemporary safety precautions demand ventilation and other measures to protect workers, such gases are ubiquitous in mining.

The safety protocols of the privately owned Mandanjoo Co., the mine operator at Tabas Parvadeh 5, were not immediately apparent. A spokesman for the company was unavailable on Sunday.

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