Iran: Coal Miners in Tabas: “WE CAME TO EXTRACT COAL, BUT INSTEAD WE EXTRACTED THE LIFELESS BODIES OF OUR COWORKERS!”

By Hasse-Nima Golkar

Iran: Coal Miners in Tabas:

“WE CAME TO EXTRACT COAL, BUT INSTEAD WE EXTRACTED THE LIFELESS BODIES OF OUR COWORKERS!”

Yet again, a terrible but entirely predictable disaster has occurred, and as before, the workers have fallen victim to the deeply inhumane and anti-worker policies pursued by the capitalist and fascist Shia Islamic state in Iran.

According to reports from social media, around 9 PM local time (19:30 Central European Time) on Saturday, the 21nd of September 2024, a massive explosion took place in the “Ma’dan-Joo” coal mine in Tabas, South Khorasan, located 600 kilometers east of the capital, Tehran. It seems that one of the causes of the accident was a gas leak. However, the main causes of such accidents must be sought in the exploitative nature of the capitalist class, where the working class is used to maximize profit by keeping costs as low as possible. This is done by failing to provide adequate and proper safety regulations in the workplace, a lack of modern and advanced equipment, the absence or shortage of oxygen tanks, and, on top of all this, insecure employment contracts, very low wages without work insurance, and so on.

The deceitful and lying Islamic state, which has been in power since February 1979, has never provided correct information or released reliable statistics in any field. Because of this, conflicting reports and figures have been shared with the public regarding this incident. Despite this, it is said that 69 workers were present in blocks “C” and “B” at the time of the explosion, of which at least 51 workers have died and 17 others have suffered serious injuries. An unknown number of workers still remain in the mine.

According to responsible government officials, including Mohammad Hassan Nami (head of the country’s Crisis Management Organization), the explosion was caused by a sudden and large release of methane gas at a depth of 250 meters in a 700-meter slope across several blocks from worksite 82 in the “Ma’dan-Joo” mine.

In Iran’s underground coal mines, due to the steep slope and the narrow width of the coal seam, old mining methods are generally used, which involve handheld drills and pneumatic hammers. Due to the small workspaces (tunnels), workers carry out the mining with great difficulty and physical limitations.

We share in the grief of the mourning families and believe that the working class has no other option to dismantle the capitalist system than to build solidarity and mutual support through self-management and libertarian, equal, and just political self-organization.