A gas explosion at a coal mine in Iran’s South Khorasan province yesterday left at least 31 people dead and 20 injured.
State media reported that the explosion happened at around 9pm local time on Sunday. The accident occurred because of a methane gas explosion in two blocks of a privately owned mine which the Madanjoo company runs.
There were 69 workers who were in the blocks of the Tabas mines at the time of the incident. There were 47 people working in block B and 22 in block C, state television reported. Iran’s Red Crescent began a search and rescue mission in the affected blocks of the mine. In block B 30 of the 47 workers were killed in the explosion, while the other 17 were injured South Khorasan governor Ali Akbar Rahimi told state television.
The search operations were met with complications as local prosecutor Ali Nesaei told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that there was “gas accumulation in the mine,” causing the mission in block B to take longer than anticipated. A search and rescue mission commenced in block C but has suffered delays due to the high density of methane in the area.
Mohammad-Ali Akhondi, the director general of the provincial crisis management department told the IRNA that it was difficult to find the remaining workers due to the size and the depth of the mine.
“The reality is that it is a difficult task to rescue the injured from a depth of 700 meters diagonally and 250 meters vertically underground,” he said.
The Tabas mines cover more than 30,000 square kilometres of land and is considered to be the largest and richest coal mine in Iran, according to the IRNA.
Ali Akbar Rahimi told state television the region is known for its successful coal mines.
“Seventy-six percent of the country’s coal is provided from this region and around eight to 10 big companies are working in the region, including Madanjoo company.”
Photo: Yurt, Iran coal mine explosion by Mostafa Hassanzadeh is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has not been modified.
