Iran blast kills more than 50 mine workers

TEHRAN

A blast caused by a gas leak at an Iranian coal mine has killed at least 51 people in one of the country's deadliest work accidents in years.

"The number of dead workers increased to 51" in the explosion at the Tabas mine in eastern Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported, revising an earlier death toll of 30.

It added that 20 other people were injured.

The explosion occurred at around 9 p.m. (17:30 GMT) on Sept. 21, when around 70 workers were present at the site in South Khorasan province, IRNA said.

According to the report, a leak of methane gas led to the blast in two blocks of the mine, which is owned by private Iranian firm Madanjoo.

Online footage carried by IRNA showed bodies of some of the victims, wearing their work uniform, carried out of the site on mining carts.

South Khorasan governor Javad Ghenaat told state TV that rescue teams were working to recover the remaining bodies.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, in remarks carried state TV before departing for the U.N. General Assembly in New York, offered his condolences to the families of the victims and ordered a probe into the deadly incident.

Iran's Red Crescent said search and rescue operations were underway in the mine, where some workers remained trapped.

According to IRNA, they were about 250 meters (820 feet) below the surface, cut off from rescuers by chambers that had filled up with concentrated methane gas.

"Gas accumulation in the mine" has made the search operations difficult, local prosecutor Ali Nesaei was quoted by IRNA as saying.

He added that "the negligence and fault of the relevant agents will be dealt with" later on.