Iran coal mine explosion leaves 6 dead, scores wounded

At least six workers were killed as a deadly explosion ripped through a coal mine in northern Iran, Iranian media reported on Monday, and a rescue operation initiated soon after the explosion recovered the bodies of the victims a day later.

The blast pierced through a tunnel at a depth of 400 metres (440 yards) in the northern city of Damghan, according to the official IRNA news agency, but it was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.

"Six miners were trapped underground on Sunday when the coal mine explosion took place in Damghan," IRNA said.

Soon after the blast, efforts to rescue the miners proved unsuccessful but the bodies were recovered Monday morning, it added.

IRNA showed footage of other workers at the site trying to recover the remains of their colleagues' bodies from under the rubble, AFP reported.

However, it is not the first time Iran has witnessed a coal mine explosion.

Previously, in May 2021, two miners were killed in a collapse at the same mining site, as Iranian media had reported at the time.

Additionally, in 2017, Azad Shahr city in northern Iran witnessed the death of 43 miners after a coal mine blast, triggering anger toward Iranian authorities.