TEHRAN, Iran, Sept 22 (AP/UNB) - A methane leak sparked an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran, killing at least 30 people and injuring 17 others, Iranian state media reported Sunday. Another 24 miners are believed to be trapped inside.
 
The report said the deaths happened at a coal mine in Tabas, some 540 kilometers (335 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.
 
Authorities were sending emergency personnel to the area after the blast late Saturday, it said. Around 70 people had been working there at the time of the blast. State TV later said 24 were believed to be trapped inside.
 
Provincial Governor Mohammad Javad Qenaat told state TV that 30 miners had been killed and 17 injured.
 
Iran's new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, preparing to travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said he ordered all efforts be made to rescue those trapped and aid their families. He also said an investigation into the incident had begun.
 
Oil-producing Iran is also rich in a variety of minerals. Iran annually consumes some 3.5 million tons of coal but only extracts about 1.8 million tons from its mines per year. The rest is imported, often consumed in the country's steel mills.
 
This is not the first disaster to strike Iran's mining industry. In 2013, 11 workers were killed in two separate mining incidents. In 2009, 20 workers were killed in several incidents. In 2017, a coal mine explosion killed at least 42 people.
 
Lax safety standards and inadequate emergency services in mining areas are often blamed for the fatalities.
 
END/UNB/AP/PR