Iran coal mine explosion kills 35

Iranian media said more than 50 workers were trapped in a two-kilometre-long tunnel filled with gas that hampered rescue efforts.

The blast occurred at 12:45 p.m. local time in the Zemestanyurt Mine when workers tried to jump-start a locomotive.

Ambulances and rescue teams were dispatched to the scene near the city of Azadshahr.

Iran extracted 1.68 million tons of coal in 2016, an increase on previous years, thanks to an easing of international sanctions. It uses most of this in domestic steel production and exports only a fraction.

This is not the first disaster to strike Iran's mining industry. In 2013, some 11 workers were killed in two separate mining incidents. In 2009, some 20 workers were killed in several incidents./.