AFP and AP
The newspaper La Jornada
Monday, September 23, 2024, p. 26
Tehran. More than 50 people have been killed and 20 injured in an explosion caused by a gas leak at a coal mine in eastern Iran, state media reported yesterday, as rescue efforts continued.
The accident occurred at 9pm (local time) on Saturday. The methane leak caused the explosion that affected two blocks of a mine where 69 workers were.
Survivors interviewed by state television, still covered in soot, described scenes of chaos after the blast.
We were in the mine. Suddenly smoke came out and I started having trouble breathing.said a worker. I jumped out of the workshop and searched until I found a safe place. My friends stayed there..
Javad Ghenaat, governor of South Khorasan province where the mine is located, told state media that emergency teams were still trying to rescue several trapped people.
Television broadcast images of ambulances and helicopters transporting the injured to local hospitals.
Before leaving for New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation into the accident. I also requested that measures be taken to prevent these tragedies. It is important to raise working standards in the country’s mines.the president added.
Mineral-rich Iran has around 1.5 billion tonnes of proven coal reserves, according to state media.
Last year, an explosion at another coal mine killed six people, also believed to have been caused by a gas leak. In 2017, 43 miners were killed in an explosion in the northern Iranian city of Azad Shahr, sparking anger among the population against the authorities.
