A blast in a coal mine near the city of Azadshahr in northeastern Iran has killed at least 35 miners, Iran’s Labour Minister Ali Rabiei announced on Wednesday night.
Hamidreza Montazeri, deputy head of Golestan Province emergency, had earlier said that 25 people, who had entered the mine to help the trapped miners, had been taken to hospital due to gas inhalation.
Officials have blamed accumulated methane gas for the blast, which happened at 12:45 p.m. local time (0945 GMT).
A local official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the explosion happened while workers were changing shifts.
