According to Iran Human Rights Monitor (Iran HRM), At 9 p.m. on Saturday, September 21, 2024, a coal mine in the city of Tabas in South Khorasan Province exploded. As a result, up to this moment, 52 people have lost their lives, making it the deadliest mining incident in the world in Tabas.
This incident occurred in one of the tunnels of the “Ma’dan-Jo” coal mine company on the outskirts of Tabas.According to Mashregh News, in this incident, at least 52 miners have been killed and 17 others injured. Experts state that the cause of the explosion is the high volume of gas and methane leakage. Many of the fatalities are due to asphyxiation. Some of the deceased were also killed due to the fire and collapse of the mine walls.
Prior to this incident, the deadliest mining accident in the world was related to the San José mine in Chile in 2010, where 33 miners lost their lives, earning it the title of the biggest mining disaster in the world. Following that, the deadliest incident in the world was the Yurt Azadshahr mine in Iran, which occurred in May 2017, resulting in the death of 43 miners.
According to the responsible authorities, the level of compression and gas release in these tunnels is such that it complicates the rescue operations, and the rescue teams must first establish routes for gas ventilation before they can enter the tunnels to assist those trapped inside the mine.
The Director General of Crisis Management in South Khorasan Province also reported the possibility of an increase in fatalities in the Tabas mine and that the number of injuries is significantly higher.
The mining industry in Iran faces fundamental challenges in terms of worker safety and health. Every year, dozens of individuals lose their lives in mining accidents, indicating a lack of safety standards and negligence by authorities in this sector. It is the workers’ lives that are at stake, with their safety being compromised.
