At least 51 people have died in an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran as a result of a gas leak, according to official media on Sunday.
After the explosion in the province of South Khorasan, more than twenty more people were hurt.
Methane gas explosions in two blocks of the Tabas mine, located 540 kilometers (335 miles) southeast of Tehran, are thought to be the source of the incident.
The explosion happened on Saturday at 21:00 local time (17:30 GMT), according to official media.
According to Javad Ghenaatzadeh, the governor of South Khorasan, there were 69 workers inside the blocks when the explosion occurred.
How many people are still alive and stuck inside the mine is still unknown.
The initial death toll of thirty has been updated by state media.
According to the official IRNA news agency, “the number of dead workers increased to 51 and the number of injured increased to 20.”
24 people are missing at the Tabas coal mine in Iran, which holds mass reserves of coking and thermal coal. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed condolences to the victims’ families. Local prosecutor Ali Nesaei stated that gas accumulation in the mine has made search operations difficult, and the priority is to provide aid to the injured and pull people from under the rubble. The negligence and fault of relevant agents will be dealt with at a later date.
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