Iranian state television on Sunday said an incident at a coal mine in eastern Iran killed at least 30 people.
The report said the deaths were at a coal mine in Tabas, some 540 kilometers (335 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.
What we know so far
State television said about 24 people remained trapped below ground. The explosion occurred on Saturday at about 9 p.m. (1730 GMT/UTC).
Authorities were said to be sending emergency personnel to the area in South Khorasan province.
According to the report, the accident was caused by a methane gas explosion in two blocks of the mine run by the Madanjoo company.
The total number of workers in both blocks when the blast happened was 69, it said.
While Iran is widely known as an oil-producing country, it is also rich in various minerals, including coal.
Deadly disasters occur on a relatively regular basis in Iran’s mining industry.
In 2009, 20 workers died in several incidents. Eleven workers were killed in two separate mining incidents in 2013. A coal mine explosion killed at least 42 people in 2017.
Loose safety standards and the lack of emergency response in mining areas are often blamed for the deaths.
(Source: Reuters/AFP/AP/DW)
