Tehran
\nIn Iran, fifty-one people have been killed and several others injured in a gas explosion in coal mine in southern Khorasan province.
\nThere were about sixty-nine workers in the mine at the time of explosion.
\nIranian state media on Sunday said an incident at a coal mine in eastern Iran killed at least 51 people and left 20 others injured.
\nThe deaths were at a coal mine in Tabas, some 540 kilometers (335 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.
\nState media had earlier said about 24 people remained trapped below ground. The explosion occurred on Saturday at about 9 p.m. (1730 GMT\/UTC).
\nEmergency personnel were responding to the incident at the mine in South Khorasan province.
\nThe accident was reportedly caused by a methane gas explosion in two blocks of the mine run by the Madanjoo company.
\nThe total number of workers in both blocks when the blast happened was 69, state media said. Footage was broadcast in Iran of dead people in their work uniforms being pulled out of the mine.
\nIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed his condolences to the victims in remarks that were broadcast on state television.
\n\u201cUnfortunately, we learned that an accident occurred in one of the coal mines in Tabas and a number of our compatriots lost their lives. I offer my condolences to their respected families,\u201d Pezeshkian said.
\nThe Iranian president has ordered all measures to be taken to rescue the victims and also stated that an investigation has been opened into the disaster.
\nAccording to local prosecutor Ali Nesaei, \u201cgas accumulation in the mine\u201d has complicated search and rescue efforts.
\n\u201cCurrently, the priority is to provide aid to the injured and pull people from the rubble,\u201d Nesaei said, according to state outlet IRNA.
\nHow common are deadly mine disasters in Iran?
\nWhile Iran is widely known as an oil-producing country, it is also rich in various minerals, including coal. About 1.8 million tons of coal is extracted from Iranian mines each year.
\nDeadly disasters occur on a relatively regular basis in Iran\u2019s mining industry.
\nIn 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.
\nLoose safety standards and the lack of emergency response in mining areas are often blamed for the deaths.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tehran In Iran, fifty-one people have been killed and several others injured in a gas explosion in coal mine in southern Khorasan province. There were about sixty-nine workers in the mine at the time of explosion. Iranian state media on Sunday said an incident at a coal mine in eastern Iran killed at least 51 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-432903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n