51 killed in Iran coal mine blast

The accident was caused by a methane gas explosion in two blocks, B and C, of the mine run by the Madanjoo company.

A gas explosion in a coal mine in Iran's South Khorasan province killed at least 51 people and injured 20, Iran's state media said on Sunday.

The accident was caused by a methane gas explosion in two blocks, B and C, of the mine run by the Madanjoo company.

"Seventy-six per cent of the country's coal is provided from this region and around 8 to 10 big companies are working in the region including Madanjoo company," the governor of South Khorasan Province Ali Akbar Rahimi told state TV on Sunday.