35 killed after explosion at coal mine in Iran

Miners and rescue workers at the mine that collapsed in Iran on Wednesday.
(Image credit: AFP/Getty Images)

An explosion at a coal mine in Iran on Wednesday caused a tunnel to collapse, killing 35 miners and injuring dozens more.

Rescuers are still trying to get to miners trapped in the Zemestanyurt mine in northeastern Golestan province, Al Jazeera reports, but the efforts have been slowed by poisonous gases that are filling the tunnels. At least six miners have been rescued, all with injuries, said Shahin Fathi, head of the Iran Red Crescent Search and Rescue Unit. Authorities say they plan on digging a side tunnel in an attempt to access miners stuck at the far end of the shaft.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.