[Today's Prayer] Total of 51 killed in Iranian coal mine explosion

At least 51 people were killed and 20 injured in an explosion caused by a methane gas leak at a coal mine in eastern Iran on the 21st (local time), AFP and other Iranian state-run media reported.

The accident occurred at around 9 p.m. local time at a coal mine in Tabas, South Khorasan Province, about 540 km southeast of the Iranian capital Tehran.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that about 70 people were working 250 meters underground and that the high concentration of methane gas made it difficult for rescue teams to approach.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered all efforts to rescue the miners trapped in the mine and announced that an investigation into the explosion has begun.

South Khorasan Province declared a three-day period of mourning.

(omitted)

This is not the first time something like this has happened in Iran's mining industry.

At least 42 people were killed in an explosion at a coal mine in 2017, two more in 2013, and more than 30 people in multiple accidents in 2009.

The AP reported that this was due to lax safety standards and a lack of emergency services in mining areas.

Source: Yonhap News

For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. (2 Corinthians 13:8-9)

We hear the sad news that 51 people lost their lives in an Iranian coal mine explosion.

May the bereaved families who lost their families in this accident and the families who are seriously injured and struggling to make ends come to know the great comfort of Jesus Christ.

May the local Christians in Iran share this sorrow and pain and convey the hope for the kingdom of God that is beyond death, so that they may meet the Lord who becomes their strength when they are weak.

We look to the Lord who makes us perfect in the truth. May the Iranian church serve with the truth so that the souls of Iran may participate in God’s calling in this time of revival.

Also, may the Iranian government and the mining industry be raised up with leaders who will lead with the word of the Lord so that there may be an end to this recurring sorrow.

Just as the Lord never rests, may you allow for people who have practical concerns for Iran rise up and gain wisdom through the word of the Lord and stand like Daniel.

Therefore, may Iran be declared no longer an Islamic republic but a kingdom of Christ and may it become a kingdom of the holy bride that welcomes the second coming of the Lord!