Tehran, May 4 (IANS): At least 35 miners were killed in a coal mine blast in Iran, media quoted a Minister as saying on Thursday.
The accident occurred at 12.45 p.m. on Wednesday in Zemestan Yourt mine in a northern Iranian province, Xinhua news agency quoted Minister of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare Ali Rabiei who spoke to the local media.
Reports said some 50 miners were also injured in the accident and more than 30 of them have been transferred to nearby hospitals. The blast site is closest to Azadshahr city.
Earlier reports said that more than 50 workers were trapped in a two-km-long tunnel filled with gas.
It also said that the explosion occurred during a change of shift.
Officials blamed accumulated methane gas for the blast.