Iran coal mine blast: Death toll climbs to more than 50, president condoles loss of lives
The accident was caused by a methane gas explosion in blocks B and C of the mine.
More than 50people were killed and many others were injured following a gas explosion in a coal mine inIran's South Khorasan Province, state media reported on Sunday (Sep22).
Earlier, 19 people were reported to be dead in the explosion late Saturday.
"The number of dead workers increased to 51 and the number of injured increased to 20" in the explosion at the Tabas mine, the official IRNA news agency reported.
What caused the accident?
The accident was caused by a methane gas explosion in blocks B and C of the mine run by the Madanjoo company.The total number of workers in the blocks at the time of the explosion was 69, state media further reported.
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A total of 20 people were injured andmore than 20 others were missing following the incident.
State TV broadcast footage of ambulances and helicopters arriving at the scene of the incident to transport the injured to hospital.
President Pezeshkiancondoles loss of lives in explosion
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed condolences to the victims' families. "I spoke with ministers and we will do our best to follow up," Pezeshkian said in televised comments.
His first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, spoke with cabinet members to ensure "emergency follow-up" and support for the victims and their families, IRNA said.
Iran's Red Crescent said search and rescue operations were underway in the mine, where some workers remaintrapped.
But "gas accumulation in the mine" has made the search operations difficult, local prosecutor Ali Nesaei was quoted by IRNA as saying.
"Currently, the priority is to provide aid to the injured and pull people from under the rubble," Nesaei said.
(With inputs from agencies)