TEHRAN: A blast in methane at The privately owned colliery in the South Khorasan province of Iran has cost the lives of at least 51 miners, as state media reported on Sunday, thus making it one of the deadliest accidents at the workplace in Iran over the past years. The blast occurred on Saturday night around 9:and at a site where roughly 70 workers were thought to be present at 10:00 AM local time.

The IRNA news agency reported that the explosion occurred due to the leakage of methane gas in two sections of the mine belonging to the Iranian’s Madanjoo company. Local news sources put the death toll at 31 before more bodies had been retrieved from the mine, so the toll changed. It has also led to the injury of 20 other persons, while many miners’ fate remained unknown amid the disaster.(More)

Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, who addressed the scene of the rescue operations, first started with 31 dead and 16 injured. He stated that 17 workers were trapped, and the rescue team had not reached them because they were approximately 400 meters deep.

“The death toll among the workers has risen to 51,” confirmed the Iranian Students’ News Agency on Sunday. At the same time, televised footage depicted the removal of the pathetic corpses of the victims from the mine. Rescue operations are ongoing as people try to bring out of the mines the other trapped miners.

The Governor of the South Khorasan province, Javad Ghenaat, announced that the rescue operation was in full swing to search for other victims. Iran’s Red Crescent was also a search and rescue team, with authorities stating that the operation may continue into the subsequent day.

The methane explosion took place in the cages in the particular mine, and the miners were trapped 250 meters beneath the surface. Momeni pointed to a hypothesis that condensation of the gas inside the mine sparked the explosion. Attempts to remove the gas have made it difficult for the rescue teams to access the trapped employees.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also offered condolences over the ‘’sad incident’’ and called on the relevant authorities to do everything possible to search for and rescue people still alive under the debris. Sophisticated government leader President Masoud Pezeshkian also expressed his sorrow to the families of the deceased before leaving for the UN General Assembly of the United Nations held in New York.

Prosecutorial Iran has requested an investigation into the case to try to understand and find a solution to this problem. However, the Labour Minister, Ahmad Meydari, outrightly rejected any hint of negligence, stating that such ‘sudden incidences’ occur in the best mining industries around the globe.

Mr. Ali Nesaei, a local prosecutor, revealed that the increase in pressure of the gasses within the mine was complicating the efforts meant for rescuing the trapped miners. He said there was no room for negligence and the main focus now was to save lives and bring out the trapped workers as he promised to investigate mishaps as soon as order was restored.

Consequently, South Khorasan is among the leading provinces in coal mining, with the ability to meet about 76 percent of the country’s resource requirements. In response to the unfortunate event, the government has recommended three days of mourning in the whole province. The Tabas mine, where the mishap occurred, has reserves of over thirty thousand square Kilometers and coking and thermal coal resources. Some people said the mine had been inspected just last month, and all the observed violations had been rectified.