TEHRAN, Iran — A methane leak sparked an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran, killing at least 30 people and injuring dozens of others, state media reported Sunday.
The state-run IRNA news agency offered a new death toll for the disaster at the mine in Tabas, saying at least 30 people had been killed.
The explosion struck a coal mine in Tabas, some 335 miles southeast of the capital, Tehran. It said authorities had sent emergency personnel to the area. Around 70 people had been working there at the time of the blast, which happened late Saturday
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
A methane leak sparked an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran, killing at least 19 people and injuring another 28, Iranian state television reported Sunday. Another 24 miners are believed to be trapped inside.
The report said the deaths happened at a coal mine in Tabas, some 540 kilometers (335 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.
Authorities were sending emergency personnel to the area after the blast late Saturday, it said. Around 70 people had been working there at the time of the blast. State TV later said 24 were believed to be trapped inside, with 28 others who escaped alive were sent for hospital treatment.
Iran’s new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, preparing to travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said he ordered all efforts be made to rescue those trapped and aid their families. He also said an investigation into the incident had begun.
Oil-producing Iran is also rich in a variety of minerals. Iran annually consumes some 3.5 million tons of coal but only extracts about 1.8 million tons from its mines per year. The rest is imported, often consumed in the country’s steel mills.
This is not the first disaster to strike Iran’s mining industry. In 2013, 11 workers were killed in two separate mining incidents. In 2009, 20 workers were killed in several incidents. In 2017, a coal mine explosion killed at least 42 people.
Lax safety standards and inadequate emergency services in mining areas are often blamed for the fatalities.
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