Explosion at Azadshahr Mine: Doubts Raised About the Survival of Trapped Workers

While reports indicate that the contractor of the 'Zemestan-Yurt' mine in Azadshahr has been summoned to the prosecutor's office, an official has dismissed the possibility of the remaining trapped workers surviving. In the explosion incident at the 'Zemestan-Yurt' coal mine located 90 kilometers east of Golestan's capital, Gorgan, which occurred on Wednesday, April 13, 22 people have been confirmed dead and 73 injured so far. Meanwhile, the Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade announced that a report on the cause of the explosion will be published soon. According to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) on Saturday, April 16, the contractor of the 'Zemestan-Yurt' mine has been summoned to the public and revolutionary prosecutor's office to 'investigate the details of the incident.' Hadi Hashemian, the head of the Golestan province judiciary, stated that the contractor has not been arrested and 'in the first interrogation session, the contractor appeared with his lawyer and answered the prosecutor's questions.' Hashemian also reported that several relatives of the deceased and injured workers have filed complaints with the prosecutor's office, adding that 'legal action will be taken against the offenders in the case.' Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh, the Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, also stated during a session reviewing the incident that the report from the fact-finding committee confirms the 'initial assumption of the cause of the incident.' Nematzadeh mentioned that the report will be published within a week after determining the main cause of the incident. He indicated that 'jump-starting the coal transport locomotive and the resulting spark' was the cause of the explosion. Four days after the explosion at the 'Zemestan-Yurt' coal mine, the bodies of 22 deceased miners have been retrieved from the mine tunnel, and rescue operations are still ongoing. Karamat Ghanbari, head of the rescue teams dispatched to the mine, announced that currently six teams of ten miners and mining specialists are conducting debris removal in two fronts and have made progress in this regard. It is estimated that between 12 to 14 more individuals may still be trapped in the mine, and access to them has not yet been possible. In this context, Ismail Najjar, head of the National Disaster Management Organization, suggested that the trapped individuals may not be alive, but efforts to reach them continue. Reza Morovati, deputy for urban affairs coordination in Golestan province, also denied any 'intentional or fabricated' nature of the incident, stating: 'Initially, it is not possible to determine the cause of the incident.' Ramadanali Sabhani-Far, head of the parliamentary commission's team dispatched to the 'Zemestan-Yurt' mine, announced that this mine lacked an air conditioning system, which was installed after the incident to facilitate rescue operations. Sabhani-Far added: 'According to provincial officials, six gas detectors have been provided to this area; whether these gas detectors were used or not is under investigation.' In the Azadshahr mine incident, 35 miners were trapped, and the fate of 13 of them remains unknown, with rescue efforts continuing to reach them. The 'Zemestan-Yurt' mine has five active tunnels for extracting 'coking coal' and one tunnel ready for operation, with an annual extraction capacity of 100,000 tons.