TEHRAN – At least 34 people have been killed and 24 others injured after a gas leak explosion in a coal mine in the eastern province of South Khorasan late on Saturday.

Some 30 people are still stuck in the mine, IRIB reported on Sunday. The total number of workers at the time of the explosion was 69, the report added.

A crisis management team has been formed by the interior and industry ministers to investigate the causes of the tragic incident.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sent a message to the Iranian nation, saying that the government and people of Pakistan are with the people and government of Iran in this difficult time.

Ammar Hakim, the leader of Iraq's National Wisdom Movement, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan have also expressed condolences over the sorrowful incident.