At least 33 dead after methane gas ignited in tunnel 1,200 metres underground at the Zemestan-Yort mine in Golestan

At least 33 people have died after a large explosion at a coal mine in northern Iran trapped scores of miners in a mile-long tunnel 1,200 metres deep underground.

“Unfortunately 33 miners who were trapped in the mine after the explosion have lost their lives,” said Ali Rabii, Iran’s minister of labour and social welfare, according to the semi-official Ilna news agency. Rabii was speaking to reporters late on Wednesday night after visiting the Zemestan-Yort mine in Golestan province.

Other news agencies quoted the minister saying the death toll could be as high as 35. The Tasnim news agency said the blast was due to workers jump-starting a locomotive engine by using an external battery. A spark ignited accumulated methane gas which exploded some 1,200 metres beneath the surface of the ground, trapping scores of miners inside.

Images carried by Tasnim showed frantic scenes at the opening of the mine as firefighters and the rescue team scrambled to attend to those injured. Officials said the remaining gas prevented firefighters to immediately reach deeper areas deep in the tunnel.

One image depicted a soot-covered miner on the stretcher as a member of the rescue team tried to give him CPR. Others were given oxygen masks while ambulances transferred the injured to the local hospitals.

“I carried two out of the mine,” one survivor told the state television. “It is not possible to go inside again. Oxygen tanks should be brought.” Another miner said: “The gas in the mine exploded and my colleagues remained in the tunnel.”

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The incident has come at a critical time in Iran, where the 19 May presidential election is approaching. The six approved candidates, among them the country’s current president, Hassan Rouhani, and his first deputy, Eshaq Jahangiri, were busy on the campaign trail. Rouhani ordered Rabii to travel to the Golestan province to visit the site of the blast and Jahangiri chaired an emergency meeting.

Conflicting reports in the initial aftermath of the blast, which was reported to have taken place at around noon local time, varied from a death toll of 80 to none. Officials later said as many as 26 miners have been trapped and 40 injured. Rabii’s report of a death toll of at least 33 miners were carried by multiple news agencies.

Sadeq Ali-Moghaddam, deputy head of emergency department at the Golestan province, confirmed earlier in the day that at least 21 miners had been killed. “We are trying to inject oxygen into the tunnel to increase the chances of survival for people who are trapped in the mine,” he was quoted as saying.

Up to 500 miners are employed by the Zemestan-Yort mine, which is 14 kilometres from Azarshahr. The Golestan province is on the Caspian Sea.