Iran president faces furious protests after mine disaster

IRAN’S President Hassan Rouhani faced furious protests from victims’ families yesterday when he visited the site of a mine accident that claimed dozens of lives, two weeks ahead of an election.

News agencies showed people stamping on Rouhani’s car and beating the windows as it tried to make its way through an angry crowd at the site in the northern Golestan province, where at least 26 people were killed by an explosion on Wednesday.

“Why is there no safety at the mine? Why does no one care?” shouted one emotional spokesman for the miners at the scene, in a video shared on social media.

“Last year, we gathered in front of the governor’s office together with our wives because we were unpaid for 14 months. And you, the president, didn’t even notice,” he said.

Rouhani, who is standing for re-election on May 19, earlier addressed the crowd, saying: “The entire Iranian nation shares the sorrow of families of those killed in the Zemestan Yort mine accident.

“Those responsible and anyone who had a fault in the incident must be found and dealt with accordingly, without any exceptions.”

As well as 26 confirmed dead, at least nine more miners were trapped inside after Wednesday’s explosion, but officials say there is little chance they have survived.

The accident is thought to have been caused by concentrated methane gas that was triggered when workers tried to jump-start an engine underground.