Who could have known that day, and its sunset, would be the last for 52 workers at the Tabas coal mine? Who could have predicted that an explosion would turn the Tabas mine disaster into one of the deadliest mining accidents in Iranian history? You might say no one, but many lived in fear of such an event every day. Among them were the very workers who knowingly stepped into the mine, aware that they might never return. Then there were the others—the mine owners and employers—who were aware of the potential dangers and could have minimized the risks with a little investment. Yet, they sent the workers into one of the least safe workplaces, a place where hundreds of breadwinners toiled, which became the final destination for dozens of “workers.” The workers who lost their lives in this catastrophe knew that their safety equipment would not save them, and knowing this, they had no choice but to endure hazardous work without protest. But why? The only possible explanation for risking such peril is one word: “need.”

Two days before the disaster, a gas leak was reported, causing part of the mine to collapse. The workers protested the dangers of the job, but the contractor’s representative calmly said, “If you can’t work, go to accounting, settle your payments, and go home.” Just like that, the most repeated sentence in labor history was spoken again by employers. The workers, aware of the grim fate awaiting them and their families if they lost their jobs, as usual, had no protection or support. So, they “stayed,” “worked,” and “died,” but they were not left unemployed.

One of the victims’ brothers told a reporter, “If a worker notices a gas leak and tells the contractor’s representative that they can’t breathe, the response is immediate: ‘You can’t breathe? Go settle your accounts!'” Even before the explosion, many workers were aware of the gas leak, but they had no choice but to keep working. A worker burdened with debt, loan payments, and rent cannot afford not to work. And employers, knowing the workers “needed” the job, sent them into the world’s most unsafe workplace. This powerful and commanding need has turned even the bravest lions into cowards. Seven years ago, in the Yurt mine, a similar event occurred, where an explosion claimed the lives of 43 workers deep in the earth’s darkness. What was striking about that incident was that the Yurt mine had been awarded a safety certificate just weeks before. That incident also became one of the country’s deadliest mining disasters, with a high death toll in the coal mining sector. And surely, you remember the controversies surrounding then-president Hassan Rouhani’s visit to the site. In September 2021, the current president, Ebrahim Raisi, also visited the Tabas mines and declared, “I’m giving the contractor 20 days to transform the workers’ conditions.” Today, seven years after the Yurt disaster and three years after the president’s directive, 52 breadwinners from the lower socioeconomic strata lost their lives in yet another coal mining tragedy, this time in Tabas, with an even higher death toll.

This story might seem more than just shocking; it is tragic and almost absurd. But what is even more heartbreaking is that in the same year the president issued that order, Mohammad Mojtahedzadeh, the head of Iran’s Coal Industry Association, in a news interview, pointed out the outdated equipment in the country’s coal mines. He said, “Assessments show that the flaws which led to the Yurt mine disaster in Golestan are present in other mines as well.” That same year, he warned, “The anti-explosion equipment in coal mines is old and worn out, and the Yurt mine disaster was caused by the outdated equipment.” Mojtahedzadeh made more painful statements that are even harder to read today: “The Yurt mine disaster has led the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade to increase oversight, and the Mining Engineering Organization has also become more active in this regard. The minister of industry under the 12th government has now made mine safety a top priority, which has given coal miners some hope.” What a hopeful situation it was, that seven years later, the last day of summer would become a black and tragic day for 52 families.

On the ominous evening of September 21 (31 Shahrivar), the workers entered a 700-meter-long mine through three tunnel entrances. Just before 9:00 PM, a loud explosion was heard from the entrance of Tunnel No. 3. The first victim was the gas detection officer, who arrived at the site after hearing the explosion and lost his life. The rest of the story comes from a surviving worker who witnessed the disaster: “The central mine is in the middle, Block (A) is on the right, and Block (B) is on the left. Block (A) isn’t connected to the central mine, but Block (B) was connected due to air ventilation. The gas from the explosion in Block (C) killed the workers while they were assembling equipment (assembly is done quietly, without noise or dust). Four of my coworkers managed to get to the entrance and told us that others, 400 meters away, were dying and that they couldn’t rescue them. We went into the tunnel with the rescue team and saved five or six of those who were still alive. We connected the oxygen devices and entered the tunnel, but most of the devices were broken and dated back to ten years ago, none of which worked. Out of ten oxygen devices, only one was functional. I was in the tunnel helping with the rescue until 4:30 AM when I became physically unwell. After that, the Red Crescent team, stationed outside the tunnel, transported the bodies into ambulances, saying, ‘We’re not allowed to enter the tunnel.’ Among the bodies were my brother-in-law Mohammad Sarani and my cousin Mohammad Moradi. Last year, the worksite was shut down due to gas presence, and this year, gas measurements were taken again. It was announced that gas was present in the mine, and a week before the incident, they said the gas level was at 4 and not at explosion level. But, unfortunately, they took no steps to disperse the gas. The gas from the explosion reached the miners, but no official was there to report the explosion. Two people who had escaped informed us. Every day an engineer is present in the mine, but that day, the safety engineers weren’t there, and they arrived only after the incident. Although my safety colleagues were present, the officials were absent at the time of the incident.”

According to the Ministry of Labor’s statistical yearbook, mining accidents account for 3% of all occupational incidents in the country, which is a disproportionately high share compared to the number of workers in this sector. Coal mining is highly dangerous, as deposits are mostly located deep underground. However, the majority of coal mining accidents result from human error, sudden gas releases, a lack of adequate and standard safety and operational equipment in the mines, and insufficient management systems.

Mines that use natural ventilation with varying tunnel and worksite elevations are always prone to the most severe mining accidents due to ventilation issues. Having a consistent and comprehensive gas detection and monitoring system is essential for all mines with gas emissions above Group 2 levels. This crucial issue often receives little attention. A vital question is whether workers in such mines always have access to portable gas detectors. Unfortunately, in many small and medium-sized mines, gas detection is done only at the start of the shift by the safety officer, and that’s it. There is no guarantee against a sudden release of gas at any time. Recording air quality data in the mine’s tunnel network every six hours is a fundamental requirement. Equipping the mine, regularly inspecting the functionality of personal safety equipment, and ensuring that workers are well-trained in using them are among the most important duties of mine managers and operators, but these responsibilities are often neglected.

Explosions in coal mines typically result from the absence of proper safety guidelines, a lack of proper inspections of equipment, incorrect assessments of the technical knowledge and performance of mining personnel, weak management, the unique gas conditions of the mine, and the lack of necessary precautions. When methane gas or coal dust, alongside other risk factors (such as sparks), combine, disaster strikes. For this reason, in modern Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) processes worldwide, the HSE unit no longer acts as a police force in the mine. Instead, it requires every operational level of the mine, from top to bottom, to understand and learn the processes of risk assessment and control. Thus, both individuals and the mining system are required to monitor the work environment and its conditions.

The critical point is that no matter how much we discuss safety measures, we cannot overlook the role of managers in enforcing and overseeing the implementation of regulations to prevent such incidents. Without a doubt, managers who are focused solely on short-term extraction or setting production records during their tenure are the biggest dangers to mining safety in the country and the main cause of the repetition of such incidents. Therefore, human error is declared the biggest cause of worker deaths—a problem that could be corrected with a bit of care. Experts believe that when mining is managed without adherence to proper principles and only with guesswork, we should expect such disasters. Another issue experts often complain about and consider a major factor in the loss of workers’ lives is cost. Mining is so costly that mine operators tend to overlook or easily ignore safety measures.

In the case of the Tabas coal mine, conflicting statements have made things more complicated. The labor minister, who visited the site, said, “No negligence occurred at the mine, and what happened was an accident.” (Let’s hope this was a bad joke!) However, other members of parliament and some executive officials said, “Safety measures were not followed at the mine, and this incident was due to existing deficiencies in the workplace.” In summary, no clear report on this incident has been published yet, and many questions remain unanswered, including: Why was the ventilation system broken? Why was there no anti-explosion equipment inside the mine? Why didn’t a mine of this depth have a drainage system? Why wasn’t gas monitoring done? Why didn’t the mine have intelligent warning systems that could have sounded alarms at least 10 minutes before the incident? Why wasn’t there enough rescue equipment to save the victims? We regret to say that these questions are not new. Every time an accident happens in a mine, the same questions arise, and officials promise to fix the problems and shortcomings. But after some time, everything is forgotten until the next disaster, accompanied by managerial show-offs and futile expert assessments that list all the deficiencies everyone already knows by heart. The same is true for floods, earthquakes, explosions, and safety concerns…

Outside the mine, workers with faces darkened by the dignity of their labor stood in sorrow. Men who, even in the darkest depths of the earth, never flinched. With hunched shoulders, bent backs, and tearful eyes, they cried loudly, unashamed of who might see their tears. Their blackened faces bore white streaks of tears running down, with fiery, bloodshot eyes—mourning the men who stayed, worked, and died.