TEHRAN: At least 50 people died and 20 injured in a devastating mine explosion in eastern Iran. The incident has also sparked fears that many more workers may be trapped beneath the rubble, according to a report by Al Jazeera. A methane gas leak caused a deadly explosion at a coal mine in Tabas, located 540 kilometres southeast of the Iranian capital Tehran, Al Jazeera said, citing the IRNA news agency. The blast occurred on Saturday night, endangering 69 miners in one of the tunnels.


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The 69 miners were working in two blocks, B and C, of the mine when the sudden gas leak occurred at 9:00pm (1730 GMT) on Saturday, according to the IRNA report. The governor of South Khorasan Province Ali Akbar Rahimi told state TV that rescue operations in block C have started. He further stated that methane density in the block is high and the operation will take around three-four hours.


Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the coal mine explosion in Tabas. He said that authorities have been deployed to the area to investigate the incident. In a rough translation of his post on X, Pezeshkian said, "The news of Tabas mine incident is very painful and impressive. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the compatriots who lost their loved ones in this incident and consider myself a partner in their grief. The Ministers of Labor and Security have been sent to Tabas to investigate and deal with the issue."