At least 50 dead in explosion at Iranian coal mine: state media | News

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Dozens of miners are believed to be trapped after one of the deadliest mine explosions in recent years.

At least 51 people were killed and 20 injured in an explosion in a mine in eastern Iran, Iranian state television reported. There were also fears that many workers were trapped.

The explosion occurred due to a methane gas leak in a coal mine operated by the Madanjoo company in Tabas, about 540 kilometers southeast of the capital Tehran, the IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

At least 69 people were working in one of the mine's tunnels when the sudden gas leak occurred on Saturday evening, the report said.

State television had previously reported that dozens of workers were believed to be trapped in the building, while 17 others had been taken to hospital for treatment.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, preparing to travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said he had ordered all efforts to be made to rescue the trapped people and help their families, adding that an investigation into the incident had been launched.

This is not the first disaster in Iranian mining. In 2017, at least 42 people were killed in an explosion in a coal mine. In 2013, 11 workers were killed in two separate mining accidents. In 2009, at least 20 workers were killed in several accidents.

Lax safety standards and inadequate rescue services in mining areas are often blamed for the deaths.