Dozens trapped as Iran coal mine explosion kills 2
Print Edition
A large explosion struck a coal mine in northern Iran trapping dozens of miners and killing at least two, state media reported.
Ambulances, helicopters and other rescue vehicles raced to the scene in Iran’s northern Golestan province yesterday as authorities worked to determine the scale of the emergency.
The IRNA news agency quoted Golestan provincial emergency management department head Sadeq Ali Moghadam as saying that 40 to 50 people are believed to be trapped in the mine outside of the town of Azadshahr.
Pir Hossein Kolivand, who runs Iran’s emergency department, later said that as many as 80 miners could be trapped in two sections of the mine. The different figures could not immediately be reconciled.
Provincial spokesman Ali Yazerloo said the blast happened at 12:45pm local time (0945 GMT) and the provincial governor was heading to the scene. Several officials blamed the explosion on accumulated gas and said it was affecting rescue efforts.
At least 25 people who had entered the mine to try to save those trapped were taken to hospital after inhaling gas, said Hamidreza Montazeri, the deputy head of the emergency department in Golestan.
Iranian news reports said the explosion happened while workers were changing shifts.
Pictures posted online revealed ambulances and emergency workers gathered at the mouth of the mine while dazed workers were seen covered in coal dust, or lying on the ground, as rescuers rushed past with oxygen bottles.
More than 500 workers are employed at the Zemestanyurt mine, which lies 14 kilometers from Azadshahr.
Golestan sits along Iran’s northern border with Turkmenistan and along the shore of the Caspian Sea.
This is not the first disaster to strike Iran’s mining industry.
In 2013, 11 workers were killed in two separate mining incidents.
In 2009, 20 workers were killed in several incidents. Lax safety standards and inadequate emergency services were blamed.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
