Blast that killed 34 at Iranian mine was rare, unprecedented: Miner
An industry source says that the explosion that killed at least 34 miners at a coal mine in eastern Iran was a rare and unprecedented case.
Saeed Samadi, who leads Iran Coal Association, said on Sunday that the privately-operated coal mine in Tabas region where the explosion took place earlier in the day is the largest of its kind in the country.
“No such incident has happened in the mine in the past,” said Samadi while adding that the mine had observed all safety precautions needed to shut down operations if there was a gas leak that could lead to an explosion.
He said a team of 18 people have been responsible for safety at the mine, which operates under the name of Parvardeh 5, adding that the head of the safety team had also died in the explosion.
Authorities said that some 17 people were believed to be still trapped at a depth of 200 meters down a 700-meter in the mine.
Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, who was at the site of the incident later on Sunday, said that it would take a day for rescuers to reach the point where the miners are thought to be trapped.
Momeni said that 17 people had also been injured in the mine explosion.
Condolences poured in from other countries after the tragic incident in the Parvardeh mine which is located 540 kilometers southeast of the capital Tehran in Iran’s South Khorasan province.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei also extended condolences to the families of the victims and local people while calling on authorities to expedite and intensify rescue efforts.
Iran has seen a major surge in mining activities in recent years amid a government push to diversify the economy away from oil revenues.
The policy has allowed authorities and private businesses to revive old mines and open new ones across Iran, leading to tens of thousands of new jobs for the country’s youth population.
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