Death toll from coal mine explosion in Iran rises to 50

Miners sit at the site of a coal mine where a methane leak sparked an explosion on Saturday (Iranian Interior Ministry via AP)

The death toll from an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran rose to 50 on Wednesday after one of the miners who was injured in the weekend blast died in hospital, Iranian state television reported.

A methane gas leak sparked an explosion on Saturday at the mine in Tabas, about 540 kilometres (335 miles) south-east of the capital Tehran. Such gases are common in mining, though modern safety measures call for ventilation and other measures to protect workers.