At least 35 coal miners perished and many others were injured in a coal mine explosion in the northeastern Iranian province of Golestan, according to Aljazeera. The blast occurred in the Zemestanyurt mine, about 14 km from Azadshahr. All trapped miners lost their lives, Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Ali Rabiei told the press. At one point, more than 40 miners had been trapped and six of them were rescued with injuries. Rescue operations continue. Photos from the scene show a drift mine and local reporters say rescuers have advance halfway down the 2-km long main entry. Iran mines a small amount of coal (less than 2 million tons). Most of it is coking coal which is consumed domestically for steel production.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/dozens-trapped-iran-coal-explosion-170503114653510.html
