At least 51 people have been ended and 20 are injured after a methane leak igniteed an explosion at a coal mine in eastrict Iran, state media alerts.
Another 24 miners were supposed to be trapped inside after the explosion struck a mine in Tabas, some 335 miles southeast of the capital, Tehran.
It is not evident how many, or if any, people are supposed to be trapped now that a recover operation is under way.
There were 69 people toiling in the mine at the time of the blast, which happened tardy on Saturday, Iranian state TV has alerted.
The accident was caemployd by a methane gas explosion in two blocks, B and C, of the mine run by the Madanjoo company, state media shelp.
Of the 47 toilers who were in the block B, 30 died and 17 were injured, local ruleor Ali Akbar Rahimi shelp earlier.
The recover operation at block B is now finishd
Methane density in block C is high and a recover operation that is under way there is foreseeed to consent three to four hours, Mr Rahimi shelp.
“76% of the country’s coal is supplyd from this region and around 8 to 10 huge companies are toiling in the region including Madanjoo company,” Mr Rahimi shelp.
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Iran’s novel plivent Masoud Pezeshkian, preparing to travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, shelp he ordered all efforts be made to recover those trapped and help their families.
He also shelp an dispenseigation into the incident had befirearm.
This is not the first catastrophe to strike Iran’s mining industry.
In 2017, a coal mine explosion ended at least 42 people, while 11 toilers were ended in two split mining incidents in 2013.
Lax defendedty standards and inample aelevatency services in mining areas are frequently denounced for the overweightalities.
Iran annuassociate uses some 3.5 million tons of coal but only rerelocates about 1.8 million tons from its mines per year. The rest is transport ined, frequently used in the country’s steel mills.
